An unemployed 28-year-old man was granted bail after pledging to seek help for his drug addiction.The defendant, whose name cannot be published by court order, was arraigned this morning before Magistrate Claire-Louise Stafrace. He pleaded not guilty to cultivating two cannabis plants, being in possession of psychotropic medicine and having an unlicensed fire weapon. Police inspector Shaun Friggieri who prosecuted, told the court that they were alerted about the case by the mother of the accused .The defendant is still living in his parents’ house.During proceedings the defendant interjected several times, initially saying he was using cannabis for therapeutic purposes only for him to admit soon after that he had a drug addiction. “I want to do this primarily to spare my mother from further trouble,” he insisted. The man was granted bail against a personal guarantee of €5,000. He was also placed under a treatment order and was assigned a probation officer to monitor his progress. Furthermore, the defendant was temporarily sent for treatment at Mount Carmel Hospital, prior to start a rehabilitation programme.Layer Victor Bugeja was legal aid.
