Youth remains a powerful mitigating factor in sentencing for drug trafficking offences, even where general deterrence is significant, and is not displaced by the seriousness of the offence where no violence is involved. Counsel must ensure that comparable decisions cited to the sentencing judge properly reflect the offender's personal circumstances, including youth, lack of criminal history, and background, rather than merely matching on the offender's age. A head sentence of four years imprisonment suspended after 12 months was appropriate for a young first offender trafficking methylamphetamine at street level over a short period under the coercive influence of a co-offender.
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