Inverness cannabis dealer warned after ‘commercial dealing on a significant scale’
A 33-year-old Inverness woman who was involved in the sale of cannabis and cannabis-based products which had a potential value of almost £50,000 has avoided a jail sentence.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that Lauren Forsyth, of Fir Place, Culloden recruited for a brief time her childhood friend, 34-year-old Danielle Shearer, of St Valery Avenue, Inverness to help her in her "commercial-scale" venture.
But police got a tip-off about what Forsyth was up to in her home which was raided on June 29, 2023 and discovered around half-a-dozen consumables which had been infused with the Class B drug.
The court was told that 1.058kg of herbal cannabis was found. Also seized were 3760 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) infused sweets; 938 pots of THC; two THC vapes and four bottles of THC-infused syrup.
Cash totalling £4720 was also found.
Forsyth's defence solicitor Duncan Henderson told Sheriff Gary Aitken that his client was vulnerable and had been led into cannabis use by her then partner. She admitted being concerned in the supply of drugs between August 13, 2021 and June 29, 2023. She was ordered to carry out 210 hours of unpaid work.
Sheriff Aitken told her: "This was commercial dealing on a significant scale over a significant period. Whatever your vulnerabilities were at the time, becoming involved in organised crime was not going to assist your position.
"You were teetering on the brink of a custodial sentence today and any further involvement makes a custodial sentence virtually guaranteed."
Shearer was in the house when the police raided it. She admitted being concerned in the supply of the drugs on June 29, 2023 and was sentenced to 80 hours of unpaid work.
Her lawyer, Willie Young said: "They had been friends since school and became good friends. She was aware that her friend had particular needs and she was aware of what was happening in her home. She wishes now she had distanced herself."
Sheriff Aitken told Shearer: "Your involvement is considerably less but it should have been none. You saw what was going on and you should have distanced yourself."
