Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Cannabis farmer grew ‘medicinal’ drug at Angus family business

Alexander Robertson, 47, used his father's business in Angus to operate a cannabis farm, which he claimed was for "personal and medicinal uses".

Alexander Robertson
Alexander Robertson.

A cannabis “specialist” who set up a cultivation to help dying relatives has been ordered to perform unpaid work.

Alexander Robertson, 47, used his father’s business in Angus to operate a cannabis farm, which he claimed was for “personal and medicinal uses”.

However, police believed there was enough evidence to link Robertson to the supply of the Class B drug after raiding Forestmuir Sawmill, near Forfar.

Cannabis raid

Dundee Sheriff Court was told how the “family-run business” builds garden sheds, buildings and fencing.

At around 8am on February 26 2021, police executed a search warrant after receiving intelligence drugs were being produced there.

Nobody was present but Robertson’s father, who owns the business, was initially detained after arriving 20 minutes later.

Prosecutor Andrew Harding said previously discoveries were made in a “systematic search”.

“Police officers located a large shed situated on the left-hand side of the main entrance to the yard.

“On entering, the officers found a number of growing tents.

“Within one of the growing tents, which was set up with working lighting and air filters, there was a cultivation in operation.

“Eight mature cannabis plants, which were close to being ready for harvesting, were also found within the tent along with 15 sapling plants.”

The root booster rhizotonic was discovered, along with a box addressed to Robertson containing a large grinder.

An extractor fan, transformer, lamps and an air filter were also seized.

Family business

Robertson was arrested in Aberdeen and claimed full responsibility for the cultivation, telling officers he had been growing cannabis “for several years”.

Mr Harding added: “He advised that the cannabis was for personal and medicinal purposes and that he would give the drug to family members who have various illnesses, some of which are terminal.

“He would not take any form of payment for this and would only grow as much cannabis as was needed to help his family.”

The prosecutor said Robertson was able to provide “specialist knowledge” about how he produced cannabis.

No values or weights for the drugs were provided by the Crown Office.

Sentencing

Robertson, of Kintore, Aberdeenshire, previously pled guilty to producing and being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

Solicitor John Boyle said Robertson’s actions were not for financial gain and he no longer involves himself with cannabis.

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael ordered Robertson to perform 150 hours of unpaid work and placed him on a restriction of liberty order, keeping him indoors between 8pm and 6am for three months.

He will also be supervised for 12 months with the sentence imposed as an alternative to custody.

For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.