Balbriggan man found with cannabis worth €6k says he was using it to treat wife’s MS

Jason McCormack made an “incredibly poor decision” out of “desperation”, his barrister said.

The defendant, with an address at Courtlough, Balbriggan, pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and having the drug for sale or supply at his home address.

The court heard gardaí attached to Balbriggan Drugs Unit carried out a search of the property on November 5th last year.

Garda Aidan Marks said a quantity of cannabis was found in different jars, with a total value of €5,950.

The defendant came home soon after the search and admitted ownership of the drugs.

Barrister Deirdre Flannery said McCormack, a father of three, has never been in trouble before and this process had been “very daunting” for him.

She said his wife has MS and he gave up work to care for her.

During the course of her treatment, they had tried every legal medication but cannabis was the only thing that worked which is why he had the drugs.

She said in retrospect, this had been “an incredibly poor decision” on his part but one that was made out of “desperation”.

Judge Dermot Dempsey adjourned the case to December 22 for a Probation and Welfare Report.

He said if the report was positive he would consider 240 hours of community service in lieu of a three month prison sentence.