A TERANG butcher who has seen his life fall apart while he smokes 45 bongs a day has had his sentencing deferred for dope dealing.
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Jason Twaddle, 42, of Thompson Street, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Monday to cultivating and trafficking cannabis and beaching a corrections order imposed for similar offending.
Police said that at 2.45pm on May 12 officers executed a warrant at Twaddle's home supported by the police dog squad.
They found a significant cannabis growing system as well as cannabis in his home and shed.
There were eight cannabis plants, 2.16 kilograms of cannabis, 25 seedlings and .07 of a white crystal substance believed to be ice.
The plants were between 55csm and 120cms high.
Twaddle admitted swapping cannabis for property and said he grew drugs for his own use.
Defence counsel Ian Pugh said Twaddle was a work in progress in term of his addiction.
Magistrate John Lesser answered that was the problem - Twaddle was not working on his issues.
The solicitor said his client was a high-end drug user and smoked up to 50 bongs daily.
He said Twaddle had ceased running his Terang butcher shop, was bankrupt and his shop had closed.
Mr Pugh said Twaddle had difficulty getting to his community corrections order commitments because he didn't have a driver's licence.
"He's affected by a drug psychosis. The breach of the corrections order is a very big hurdle and he's now back in court for similar offending," he said.
"He does have potential with rehab," he said.
The magistrate deferred sentencing until later in the year and extended the current corrections order, telling Twaddle if he failed to comply he would be jailed.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Michael Graham said Twaddle had been placed on a corrections order for similar offending, but had continued to smoke cannabis and had failed to engage with drug treatment.