A young Mosgiel man was clearly breaching the trust of his doctor when he sold or swapped prescription ritalin for cannabis to sell, Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said yesterday.
Doctors prescribed medication because it was needed, the judge told 19-year-old Damien Allan Shaw (also known as Stevens), who was for sentence in the Dunedin District Court.
Shaw earlier pleaded guilty to supplying the class B drug ritalin on April 1 last year and selling cannabis between July 1 and October 16.
He was prescribed ritalin in 2005 after being diagnosed with ADHD.
But police inquiries last year revealed he had been selling some of the medication to local drug dealers and had swapped ritalin for cannabis at least once.
Shaw admitted selling ritalin for about six months.
A check of his text messages showed he had also been regularly selling cannabis.
He admitted dealing for three months before his arrest.
Crown counsel Louise Denton said a prison sentence starting at three to four years, with a reduction to mark the guilty pleas, was appropriate.
Defence counsel Anne Stevens accepted a three-year starting point but asked for consideration of home detention or community detention given Shaw's age, his particular circumstances, the fact he had not previously been to prison, had no previous drug convictions and was employed.
From a prison term starting at three years, Judge O'Driscoll deducted 14 months to take into account Shaw's age and guilty plea and to give the maximum weight to the particular personal circumstances.
That put the sentence in the range where home detention could be an option and the judge said he had decided not to send Shaw to jail.
"But I want to make it very clear, if you reoffend, notwithstanding your personal circumstances, prison will be imposed," he told Shaw.
On the ritalin supply charge, Shaw was sentenced to seven months' home detention, with a concurrent five-month term for selling cannabis.
Conditions of his home detention require him to be assessed for substance abuse and to undertake drug treatment or programmes as directed and any other recommended counselling, treatment or programmes.
As well as home detention, Shaw was also sentenced to 200 hours' community work on each charge, the terms to be concurrent.
