For the purposes of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (Vic), a cannabis cutting becomes a 'plant' when it develops a root; the root need not be viable or constitute a root system, and a dead plant remains a plant. The meaning of 'plant' is a question of law for the judge, not a question of fact for the jury, and expert botanical evidence as to the meaning of the word is inadmissible before the jury. Where the prosecution case on commercial quantity depends on the number of plants possessed for sale, the trial judge must relate the evidence as to the condition of the plants to the issue of the purpose for which they were possessed.
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