Despite selling nearly $10,000 of cannabis in Dunedin and Central Otago over the course of a few months this year, Aaron Edie was no better off because he did not adhere to the golden rule.
His counsel Andrew Dawson told the Dunedin District Court this week his client was found with no cash when police searched his home.
"The majority of [what Edie made] was spent on restocking," he said.
"He was offending really to smoke for free."
A recent change in circumstances, however, had given the defendant some clarity, Mr Dawson said.
Edie and his partner were expecting their first child and he wanted to leave his life of crime behind.
"The impending birth is a watershed moment for you," Judge Emma Smith said.
"You don’t want to use drugs around your family."
Police’s suspicions of Edie’s drug offences proved to be well founded when they gained access to text-message data from his phone.
The communications revealed he had been selling to "numerous" associates and was dealing almost daily between May and June.
The mobile business also involved him travelling as far as Central Otago to provide his wares, the court heard.
Mr Dawson said Edie had only began the criminal enterprise after his lost his job in Timaru in mid-February.
The defendant estimated for police that he had sold 20 ounces of cannabis for $9000 in 2020.
The profit went up in smoke, Mr Dawson said.
He stressed there was no evidence of his client living a lavish lifestyle or splashing out on "flash" items.
Edie had used cannabis for a relatively long time, partly because of a back injury he sustained some years ago.
Judge Smith sentenced him to 15 months’ intensive supervision, three months’ community detention and 100 hours’ community work.
