A man who operated a controversial “cannabis advice centre” from a Dundee shop-front has been jailed after pleading guilty to stashing £35,000 worth of drugs in his home.
Nik Brown, who ran the Dundee Cannabis Collective from a premises on Dundee’s Strathmartine Road, championed drug legalisation and claimed to give members of the public advice on the benefits of using medicinal cannabis.
Brown, of Laing Street, was found to be in possession of more than £35,000 worth of cannabis in September last year after fire crew attended his home following reports of a fire.
They forced entry and extinguished a small kitchen fire, which started because the accused had left food unattended on the cooker.
No-one was in the flat, but firefighters spotted a quantity of cannabis and rolls of money on the living room table.
By the time Brown returned home, there was a cordon around the property and a search warrant was on its way.
He was searched and officers recovered a grinder flecked with small amounts of “medicinal” cannabis and £350.
An exhaustive search of his home revealed far more.
In addition to drug paraphernalia including grinders, four sets of scales, bags and a tick list containing the names of buyers, the officers found £9,865 in cash and a quantity of MDNA.
Sheriff Alastair Brown previously denied Brown bail after being told he hoped for release to continue running his collective.
At Dundee Sheriff Court on Tuesday, Brown was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
Defence lawyer Sarah Murray had insisted her client “regretted” his actions and said Brown was a “vulnerable young man”.
She did however concede the 24-year-old appreciated any punishment handed to him was “down to his own actions”.
Sheriff Alastair Brown told the accused he appreciated there was a “large degree of naivety and stupidity behind his actions”.
He however warned a custodial sentence was inevitable due to the nature of the offence.
Sheriff Brown said: “Those who are concerned in the supply of any controlled drug must understand that the courts will treat their offences very seriously.”
“Cannabis is illegal.”
Brown had been running the Dundee Cannabis Collective since early 2015.
The site purports to promote the benefits of “medicinal cannabis” and sells items such as legal drug paraphernalia and large tins of lighter gas.
The Courier spoke to Brown in June after the mother of a Tayside man whose life had been ruined by solvent abuse criticised the shop.
