Where an offender convicted of possession of a Schedule 1 drug for commercial purposes has no prior recorded convictions, has pleaded guilty at an early stage, and has taken very significant steps towards self-rehabilitation to the point of being drug-free at sentencing, a parole release date at the one-third mark of the head sentence may be manifestly excessive. Proven rehabilitation should be reflected tangibly in a parole release date substantially less than the one-third starting point. The comparable cases establish a sentencing range of two-and-a-half to four years for possession of methylamphetamine in quantities similar to those in this case, with the presence or absence of a criminal history being a significant determinant of where within that range the sentence should fall.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 14 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 14 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.