Carlow man in ‘significant pain’ self-medicating with cannabis
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A MAN suffering from chronic pain resorted to growing his own cannabis plants in a bid to self-medicate, Carlow District Court heard last week. Dariusz Kukielka, 48 Crosbie Place, Little Barrack Street, Carlow pleaded guilty to cultivating two cannabis plants as well as to possessing cannabis for his own use after gardaí searched that address on 26 September 2024.
Sergeant Peter Smyth said that Mr Kukielka (44) told gardaí that he owned the plants and that the gardaí said that they were worth €1,600. Solicitor Joe Farrell said that gardaí usually put a stock value of €800 each on such plants, based on the potential value of harvest of their leaves.
He continued that his client suffers from “significant pain” and had resorted to growing the drug himself rather than having to approach drug dealers.
Judge Geraldine Carthy convicted and sentenced the defendant to eight months’ imprisonment on the cultivation charge but suspended the sentence in full for a period of 12 months on the condition that Mr Kukielka be of good behaviour and engage with the Probation Service.
