Philip Polkinghorne sentenced to 150 hours of community work on meth charges
I admit I’m not sure what the typical charges are for possessing 37g of meth, but this seems incredibly low.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/532530/philip-polkinghorne-sentenced-to-150-hours-of-community-work-on-meth-chargesOpen linkView original on lemmy.nz
4 replies
In the article it says the defence cited similar cases and suggested a $650 fine out of a maximum $1000.
The judge didn't think a $600 fine would deter him so opted for 200 hours community service (reduced to 150 due to mitigating circumstances).
He's also been clean since 2021 taking regular drug tests.
I dunno, I tend to think drug addiction is a health problem not a justice problem so it seems fine to me.
You're right; drug addiction should indeed be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one. However, his sentence was for possessing a significant amount of methamphetamine (Class A) and drug paraphernalia.
I know people who received similar sentences for having only a few ounces of marijuana (Class C) for personal use along with a utensil, though this was some years ago.
I think it's best not to say it should be a longer sentence because it's similar to a marijuana one, and rather ask why we prosecute marijuana at all (I know the answer is the referendum, but it's still dumb).
I agree, I voted yes to legalize and believe it should be legalized. It wasn't the best comparison just the the first thing I thought of related to sentences for abuse of the drugs Act.