There is no hard and fast principle that an offender convicted of trafficking in a Schedule 1 drug must serve actual time in prison. A sentence of immediate release on parole may be justified for a youthful offender (17 years) with no prior criminal history, full cooperation with police, time served on remand, and demonstrated rehabilitation efforts. A three-year head sentence with parole conditions including drug testing can satisfactorily serve both personal and general deterrence.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 10 later cases that cite this judgment.
7 of the 10 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.