A South Korean court sentenced a defendant to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, for smoking cannabis and taking part in growing it.[1] The law firm that handled the case said a prison term had been expected because cultivation was involved.[1] The defendant, identified only as A, had come to cannabis through a friend’s recommendation during a period of psychological drifting.[1] A was tried for the cultivation as well as the smoking, not only for smoking or possession.[1] Because the case had co-defendants, separating how the offence came about, how far each defendant took part and who led it was the central issue.[1]

Hwang Won-yong, the head of law firm Inyul who represented A, argued that A did not know the tools or the method needed to grow cannabis and had joined on a friend’s suggestion with no aim of distributing or selling it.[1] Family and friends submitted petitions describing A’s daily conduct, social ties and the family’s commitment to supervising and guiding A.[1] The court weighed the sentencing factors presented by the defence in fixing the term, and A avoided prison.[1]