Addict escapes jail sentence

A HODTHORPE man serving a suspended jail sentence has been spared custody following a drugs offence.

John Slone was arrested in Derby regarding an unrelated matter and taken to St Marys Wharf police station where cannabis was found in a cigarette packet he was carrying.

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Becky Mahon, prosecuting, told Chesterfield magistrates it was a small amount of cannabis worth about £5.

Slone, 38, of King Street, Hodthorpe, admitted possessing drugs on 24th October.

He had previous convictions for drug offences.

The court heard that he received a suspended prison sentence last August following a conviction for assault.

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The bench decided not to activate the suspended sentence and imposed a one-year conditional discharge, with £100 costs.

The cannabis seized will be destroyed.

Steve Brint, for Slone, said: “He has been a drug user for 25 years and it has led to numerous court appearances.”

“To his credit he no longer uses heroin and crack cocaine, which he was addicted to.”

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“He dabbles with cannabis and is trying to wean himself off it.

“It would be unjust to activate the suspended sentence for possession of a small amount of cannabis.”

Mr Brint said Slone had been unwell for a long time and regularly attended Bassetlaw Hospital to see a psychiatrist, an anger management counsellor and a doctor regarding his back problem.