A local man who declared himself “49 days drug-free” walked from Mandurah Magistrates Court on Tuesday with a $500 good behaviour bond.
The man, who will not be named, represented himself on charges of cannabis and methylamphetamine possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He pleaded guilty to all charges and, in an emotional statement read to the court, referred to being busted by police as “like being hit by a bus”.
The man told the court he had been earning up to $150,000 per year when an assault left him with a spinal frature.
Unable to work, he found himself suddenly unemployed after years of stable employment.
He said prescribed painkillers worked on the pain, but his situation left him depressed, and he turned to meth and cannabis.
The previously law-abiding man was charged following a search of his Mandurah home on April 18 where officers uncovered 8.94gm of cannabis and a pipe.
Later that day the man was pulled over by police on Leigh Street in Dudley Park and found to be in possession of four clipseal bags containing 6.1gm of methylamphetamine.
“My journey on the meth train had come to an end,” he said.
The man said he was “well on the way to recovery” and was in counselling.
Magistrate Anne Longden said it was to the man’s credit he had “turned things around”.
“I wish I had you in court every day to give a cautionary tale,” she said.
The man was released on a three-month community order.
