Amy Ann Binnie was pulled over by the police on 28 August last year in her black Ford Fiesta in St Helier after she was reported for bad driving.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that officers noticed that she had glazed eyes and slurred speech, so they breathalysed her but the results came back negative.
They started to search her car and noticed that she ‘became agitated’ and tried to put a small pouch into a blue plastic bag, the court heard.
Officers discovered seven pouch bags containing 10 gm of cannabis resin each, as well as 19 blue diazepam pills and one painkiller tablet in the car.
A further 76 mg of cannabis resin was found at her home.
The drugs could have been sold for as much as £1,400 on the street, the court heard.
During police interview Binnie said that she had bought the large quantity of cannabis because she wanted to stock up on the drug, believing there was ‘going to be a shortage of supply’ in the Island.
She said that she would have sold some of the resin to one or two of her friends ‘to sort them out’ but would not have tried to make a profit. She bought the cannabis for £700.
Advocate Debbie Corbel, defending, said that Binnie had had ‘an exceptionally difficult year’ last year and had used drugs to help cope with difficult circumstances, including her father’s serious illness.
She added that her client had responded well since her arrest and was receiving prescribed drugs to help her cope, which had replaced her use of illegal substances.
During sentencing, Magistrate Bridget Shaw, presiding, said that she had ‘made a wise decision’ to stop depending on illegal substances.
She said: ‘You have taken considerable steps since you were arrested and it seems that you are starting to get some mature insight.’
Binnie, who lives in St Lawrence, pleaded guilty to possession and possession with intent to supply.
She was sentenced to 70 hours’ community service and placed on probation for 12 months.
The court ordered that the drugs be destroyed.
