A Crown concession that there is no evidence of trafficking does not equate to a finding that cultivation was solely for personal use. A sentencing judge may rely on the objective seriousness of the offence — including the sophistication of the set-up, the quantity of drugs, and their value — to impose an immediate custodial sentence notwithstanding the absence of evidence of actual sales. Defence counsel who fail to call evidence in support of assertions made from the bar table, particularly when the sentencing judge has signalled concern about the commercial nature of the activity, cannot later complain on appeal that the judge failed to make findings in their favour.
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