The prohibition on harm-based sentencing regimes in drug cases ([name withheld]; [name withheld]) does not justify withholding from a sentencing judge basic information about a new or unfamiliar drug. A sentencing judge is entitled to know what the drug is, how it is used, its known effects, and its market value. Trafficking in a combined total of 3.5 grams of drugs, not for financial gain but to support personal addiction, should not be characterised as a 'very serious example' of the offence and would normally be dealt with in the Magistrates' Court.
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