A Perthshire woman has been found guilty of growing a cannabis farm at her home and supplying it to a 15-year-old girl.
Allisia Mackenzie set up a cultivation in an upstairs bedroom, got herself a manual and bought a bong off Amazon.
The 39-year-old told police she was growing the class B drug to help ween a schoolgirl off solvents and improve her mental wellbeing.
She said she had feared for the young girl’s life.
Mackenzie denied charges of supplying, possession and production of a controlled drug, despite speaking frankly about her actions to investigators.
She was found guilty following a trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
‘Significant’ health consequences
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC told Mackenzie: “I take account of the desperation you may have felt.
“However, there is no explanation that justifies supplying a child with a controlled drug.
“In a text message, you referred to the child as ‘a little girl,’ and that is exactly what she was.
“A little girl who you were supplying with illicit drugs.”
The sheriff said: “You knew it was illegal, you stated yourself that you would take the consequences for your actions, but you did it anyway.
“You took it upon yourself to medicate the child with a controlled drug – a drug that could have significant consequences for brain development and mental health.”
Avoided buying from dealers
The court heard how police executed a search warrant on Mackenzie’s home in Grahame Terrace, Gilmerton, on January 11 last year.
Detective Constable Catherine Knox said officers found a tent in a first floor bedroom.
Under the canvas were four medium-sized cannabis plants, as well lighting, apparatus and cables.
Mackenzie told police she kept cannabis inside an “old Victorian dresser drawer” at her home.
She said she grew the cannabis crops “so that I’m not buying drugs from dealers off the street”.
During her police interview, she admitted ownership of cannabis and said she let the girl smoke it using her glass bong once or twice a day.
“I would never do anything to put her at risk,” she said.
Mackenzie represented herself at her trial.
When asked if she wanted to lead any defence evidence, she told Sheriff Bain: “No, just please wrap this up now.
“I need to get this over with. If you could just please make a decision.”
She was found guilty of supplying cannabis to the child on various occasions between June 1 2022 and January 11 2023.
Mackenzie was further convicted of possessing and producing cannabis on January 11 2023, the day police raided her home.
Sentence was deferred for background reports.
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