Drug user told probation officer he was down from four to three joints a day, Cork court told

Cork District Court also heard that the accused believed that cannabis should be legalised

The cannabis smoker was facing sentencing for his seventh conviction for drugs. File picture: Getty

A cannabis smoker facing sentencing for his seventh conviction for drugs told his probation officer that he was reducing his drug use and that instead of smoking four joints a day he was now only smoking three.

34-year-old Anthony O’Connor of Saoirse, 7 Glenfields Park, Ballyvolane, Cork, also took the opportunity while he was talking to the probation officer to say that he believed that cannabis should be legalised.

Judge Mary Dorgan said the 34-year-old’s probation report made matters difficult to deal with at Cork District Court.

Defence solicitor, Stephen Cotter, said of the defendant’s belief that cannabis should be legalised, that “he now resiles from that opinion”. 

Anthony O’Connor also spoke up to tell the judge that he was now attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings.

Judge Dorgan told the man that a person with convictions for having cannabis for their own use could be jailed on the third count.

The judge also said that while some people were of the view that cannabis was harmless and should be legalised there was evidence that use of cannabis could cause psychosis.

The defendant's solicitor, Mr Cotter, said the accused was reaching the view that he should stop using cannabis: 

He should knock the pot on the head. 

Judge Dorgan also told the man, whose latest conviction was for having €60 worth of cannabis for his own use at Banduff Road, Mayfield, Cork, on June 10, 2025, that the probation service concluded that he was “a moderate risk” of offending. 

“That means it is kind of iffy as to which way you will go,” Judge Dorgan said. The case was finalised with a 15-month probation bond.