A Caramut man caught with nine cannabis plants growing in his backyard says he smoked the plants for pain relief.
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Wayne Phelps, 53, of Payne Street, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to cultivating and using cannabis.
On January 2, Victoria police highway patrol members attended Phelps' property following reports of a motorist driving dangerously in the area.
When no-one answered the front door, they entered the rear of the yard and located seven cannabis plants inside two garden beds.
A further two plants were found in the front garden.
Police seized the plants and Phelps' attended the Mortlake police station by appointment on January 17.
He made full admissions to the cultivation, stating he smoked the drug as pain relief after falling of a roof.
Magistrate Franz Holzer said Phelps needed to find an alternative pain medication that was legal.
Phelps was fined $600 and ordered to pay $124 in court costs.
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