A WREXHAM man supplied cannabis to a 16-year-old boy, a court heard.
Craig Raymond Wright, 26, was jailed for six months when he appeared at Mold Crown Court.
Wright, of Y Wern, Wrexham, admitted possessing the drug with intent to supply after his arrest in April.
He was said to have turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism after the loss of a child.
When he was arrested, he was in the company of a boy of 16 who had received cannabis from him, the court was told.
Judge Niclas Parry told him that the age of one of his customers was an aggravating feature and said parents looked to the courts to help protect their children.
“You are an active street dealer of cannabis,” he said.
He had been found at someone else’s house with a substantial amount of money and individual cannabis deals and text messages on his phone, along with the drugs paraphernalia seized, only confirmed what he was doing.
“The greatest aggravating feature is that you were supplying to a minor,” the judge said.
“However experienced he was in the use of drugs, it is well established that long-term harm can be caused to young people by the early taking of drugs.”
“Those who profit by supplying drugs to minors must be severely dealt with.
“Parents look to the courts to ensure that protection.
“Clearly only an immediate sentence can be justified.”
Gareth Parry, prosecuting, said police executed a search warrant under The Misuse of Drugs Act at 2pm on April 3 at a property which was not Wright’s home.
He was arrested and searched and his mobile phone, together with £750 and 14 individual cannabis bags in a larger plastic bag, were seized.
Police then searched Wright’s own home and they found a large number of re-sealable bags in a shed.
Forensic examination showed the bags and those found on him were identical. Interviewed, Wright made no comment but told police about his own drugs habit.
However when his phone was examined, incriminating text messages were found which showed he was involved in the supply of drugs.
On his arrest he had been in the company of a 16-year-old boy who had been dealt with for possessing cannabis.
Paul Abraham, defending, said his client had suffered the sad loss of a child.
He started self-medicating by drinking alcohol and using cannabis.
“Then as many sadly do, he found himself in a position where he obtained drugs on credit, fell behind, and was offered the solution of wiping out or reducing the debt by involving himself in drugs supply. That is what has brought him to court today.”
Mr Abraham said he was supplying the cannabis to people he knew and who already consumed cannabis. He had not corrupted anyone else.
Mr Abraham said the 16-year-old was fortunate not to be standing in the dock with the defendant and was not “an innocent abroad”.