Drug case: names are suppressed

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 49, 20 June 1974, Page 3

Drug case: names are suppressed

Two young people had their names suppressed when they appeared before Mr P. J. Trapski, SM, in the Taupo Magistrate's Court this week on drug charges. A 19-year-old waitress and a 23-year-old man both pleaded guilty to procuring, smoking, and possessing the narcotic cannabis (marijuana) earlier this month. The girl was discharged without conviction under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act, and ordered to pay $50 toward the cost of prosecution on both the procuring and smoking charges. "I believe one of the greatest attributes of a human being is their personal dignity, and that is something nobody can take away from you," Mr Trapski told her. "But you can throw it away yourself. "I am going to give you the encouragement to get yourself out of the position you are in." The pendulum had swung in American Courts and possession of cannabis was again being regarded as a serious criminal offence, rather than a medical matter, Mr Trapski warned the male defendant. The man was fined $75, Court costs $5, on each of two charges — procuring and smoking — and convicted and discharged for possession of cannabis. Senior-Sergeant R. Moncur, who prosecuted, said the defendants had gone to Hamilton to procure cannabis on June 8. Interviewed at a Taupo address on the afternoon of June 9, the girl frankly admitted possessing the narcotic and, from her handbag, produced a plastic bag containing 1.57 grammes of cannabis in stick form. She said it had cost her $12 in Hamilton and she had smoked some with a compartion in a Taupo motel room the previous day. The girl told the police she enjoyed smoking marijuana and thought the laws

relating to it were wrong, Mr Moncur said.. The other defendant was found in a Taupo motel at 5.30 p.m. on June 9 and also freely admitted having cannabis. He produced three 4.80 gramme sticks, wrapped in plastic and hid^en in a paper bag under the bed. He said they had cost him $12 each. Mr C. Royfee, who appeared for both defendants, said the offences were in no way related to similar charges heard in the Taupo court recently. The girl, he said, was going through an identity crisis. She had dropped out of university and had- been "just bumming around." Before coming to Taupo, she had been a member of a shearing gang and had lived in a commune. "She is now thinking of returning to university to complete her B.A. Although she has potential, she just seems to have been wasting her life," Mr Royfee said. He said his male client found cannabis a preferable alternative to alcohol, and claimed it helped him in his work in the same way that other people might use alcohol. * * * A 27-year-old married man was fined $60, Court costs $5, when he admitted a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old giri. His name was suppressed. Mr A. P. Christiansen, who appeared for the defendant, said the man was separated from his wife and was soon to take up a job overseas. Senior-Sergeant Moncur said the defendant was interviewed on June 17 as a result of a complaint from the girl's parents, and admitted the affair had been going on for the past 18 months. He told the police he had bought the girl a diamond engagement ring, though he knew she was still at school. * * * Brent Alan Devlin, 17, millhand, was ordered to come up for sentence if called on within the next two years, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of theft. He admitted stealing a wallet containing $60, two travelling lights worth $50 and a camping pack valued at $30 from a car in Rotorua on December 26. The Court was told Devlin had 6een placed on probation recently, but the theft offence was committed before that. Devlin was ordered to pay $110 restitution under

the direction of the probation officer. * * * Two girls took a car from the place they were staying and, without permission, drove it to Tokanui, Turangi and Iwitahi, returning to Taupo the next day, the Magistrate heard. Before Mr Trapski was Maria Anglei Powhare, 18, married, who pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, and Venus Aroni Raharuhi, 18, factory hand, who pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle. "It sounds like a case of Maori borrowing," Mr Trapski said, tining Powhare $50, Court costs $5, and Raharuhi $30, costs $5. Senior-Sergeant Moncur said the owner of the car reported its disappearance to the police on May 15, the day after it was taken. Powhare had been warned previously that she was not to drive the vehicle, but she used a piece of wire to prise open a window in order to unlock the door from the inside. A key. found inside the car was used to start the ignition. * * * Driying with excess blood alcohol content cost Barry George Climie, 25, drilling contractor, $175, Court costs $5, medical expenses $15. He pleaded guilty to driving with 169 milligrammes of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood in Taupo on May 3, and was disqualified from driving for six months from July 4. Mr C. Royfee appeared for Clunie.