For offences of cultivating cannabis by enhanced indoor means under the post-2006 amendments to the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985, the enhanced indoor means of cultivation is an element of the offence and should not be double-counted as an aggravating feature. A sentence of 4 years (NPP 2y 6m) for cultivation of 172 plants (86% of the large commercial quantity) by a person with a limited role (tending and guarding) was manifestly excessive, with the appropriate sentence being 3 years (NPP 22 months). The hardship of imprisonment for a foreign national with no English and limited support is a relevant factor in assessing manifest excess even where not raised before the sentencing judge.
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