For the purposes of s.5 of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic), 'control' extends beyond physical control to include the power or authority to direct or manage a substance, and a person may have control without being in its immediate physical presence. A sentencing judge errs by requiring an offender to establish a probability of rehabilitation before that factor can be weighed; even in the absence of remorse, the possibility of rehabilitation of a youthful first offender cannot be totally excluded from consideration.
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