Cannabis is “not a benign drug”, a senior London judge has said as he jailed a young man whose life has been derailed by drug use.
Judge Martin Edmunds KC, the Recorder of Kensington and Chelsea, made the remark as he sentenced 22-year-old Marvellous Adegha to a 15-month prison sentence for trying to smuggle herbal cannabis through Heathrow Airport.
Isleworth crown court heard Adegha had once been an aerospace student at Kingston University with a promising future, but he dropped out and developed mental illnesses as a result his cannabis use.
Adegha agreed to smuggle 15 kilos of the class B drug - worth £456,000 - into the UK for a £5,000 fee, when he was facing the imminent prospect of homelessness.
“It’s a matter of regret that you developed mental illness because of drug use”, said the judge on Tuesday.
“This illustrates that cannabis is by no means a benign drug.
“It’s clearly had a very serious impact on your life.”
His words come after the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, backed a report which called for the decriminalisation of possession of cannabis when it is for personal use.
The London Drugs Commission, chaired by former Labour cabinet minister Lord Falconer, recommended the law change, and Sir Sadiq called the report a “compelling, evidence-based case" for decriminalisation.
However, Angela Rayner, the deputy Prime Minister, signalled that the government is not looking to change the law, while Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley indicated the force is not pushing for change.
Last week, Marcus Monzo was jailed for life with a 40-year minimum term for a samurai sword rampage which left 14-year-old schoolboy Daniel Anjorin dead.
The Old Bailey heard how Monzo was in the grip of psychosis when he went on the attack, sparked by his use of hallucinogenic drugs and a £100-a-day cannabis habit.
David Raynes, from the National Prevention of Drugs Alliance, responded to the conversation around decriminalisation by by warning that watering down the laws governing cannabis would wrongly send the message that it is “less harmful".
Judge Edmunds was told how Adegha dropped out of university and has battled “cannabis-induced psychosis and depression”.
Prosecutor Rebecca Steels told the hearing how Adegha was stopped on May 17 by Border Force officers at Heathrow terminal four after flying into the UK from South Africa, via a stop in Doha.
“He said his girlfriend packed his suitcase”, she said.
“The bag was opened and a significant number of vacuum-packed packages were found, containing herbal cannabis.”
He had packages containing more than 15 kilos of the drug, with a street value of £456,000.
“At that time, he suggested he believed he was bringing gold into the country, and expected £5,000 for doing so”, added the prosecutor.
Adegha’s barrister, Alexandra Monaghan, said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, had moved to the UK from his native Nigeria at the age of 15 after his mother died of malaria.
“He has struggled with his mental health”, she said.
“He was becoming homeless, he had been asked to leave the social housing and homelessness was a real concern.
“He had money in his pocket for two days of hostel accommodation, and after that he was going to be homeless.
“He met a man called Jay online who offered him an opportunity when he was incredibly worried about where he was going to go.”
He pleaded guilty and admitted that he knew it was drugs, not gold, in his suitcase.
Adegha, of no fixed address, attended the sentencing hearing from prison, where he has been held since his arrest.
He was ordered to pay a £187 victim surcharge alongside the prison term, having pleaded guilty to being concerned in the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on the importation of a class B drug.
