Where an offender has achieved remarkable rehabilitation during an unexplained delay between offence and charging, the sentencing judge must accord that rehabilitation sufficient weight in fixing both the head sentence and the non-parole period. The context in which drugs were ingested (here, heroin taken during withdrawal treatment that reacted with prescription medication) is a relevant mitigating factor that must be weighed, and a sentencing judge who over-emphasises the bare fact of drug use without considering its context may fall into error.
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