A man who grew his own cannabis in the attic to “avoid involvement with the criminal fraternity” will now be sentenced on March 11.
Thirty-year-old Steven Bowler was to have discovered his fate on February 12 but a supplementary background report was not available.
Lawyer Paul Ralph revealed the accused had “signed himself out” of a high dependency unit to to make sure he made it to court.
Perth Sheriff Court heard the accused would use the class B drug to blot out the horrors of the physical abuse he suffered as a child.
Access to his small-scale cannabis factory was gained via a hole inside a walk-in wardrobe in his bedroom at Green Road, Balbeggie.
He admitted producing the controlled drug at his home on May 14, 2019, and having cannabis in his possession. But the kitchen assistant’s attempts at growing the cannabis were abysmal, with all of the mature plants either dead or dying.
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson explained: “The cultivation ultimately consisted of four rotten plants, one dried out plant and one further plant, as well as eight seedlings.”
Drugs officers would normally estimate that each plant could produce between one and three ounces of the drug, giving a potential value of between £1600 and £4800 in total.
But she added: “They are of the opinion that in this case the lower value is more likely to be correct.”
The set-up appeared to be “very basic,” with the plants poorly maintained.
She added: “All of the mature plants appeared to be dead or dying, with only two small trays, containing healthy-looking plants.”
A prosecution motion to forfeit the plants was continued until next month.
