A 57-year-old man has been jailed for four and a half years after being caught with over £400,000 worth of cannabis resin he planned to sell – including to a medicinal cannabis user whose prescription had been delayed – shortly after health officials warned that the island’s medicinal cannabis system was fueling an unregulated “black market”.
Alan Leigh was convicted of possessing cannabis resin worth up to £420,000 and planning to supply it to islanders last week.
The Superior Number of the Royal Court – which convenes for only the most serious cases – heard that Leigh had hidden over 15kg of the class B drug in two camping bags at a storage unit in Trinity.
A further 373 grams were found in his Ford Transit van along with £10,535 in cash, believed to have come from drug dealing.
Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, prosecuting, said the cannabis had an estimated minimum street value of £252,000 to £420,000.
She said that a staff member who went to clean the storage unit on the morning of 12 February discovered the drugs and alerted the police, who then installed four hidden cameras inside.
Leigh was caught on film that afternoon when he came looking for the drugs. He was heard saying: “Where’s them bags gone? … You’re kidding me, you’re kidding me.”
The conviction comes amid mounting concern among health leaders about the island’s medicinal cannabis system, which they say has led to unsafe prescribing, increased psychiatric admissions, and a “black market in prescription drugs”.
Mental Health Director Andy Weir last month raised concerns about prescribing practices for islanders with serious mental illness amid a “notable increase” in inpatient mental health admissions for those prescribed large amounts of cannabis.
Addressing a panel of politicians responsible for scrutinizing health policies, Mr Weir said there were “significant concerns” about the volume of cannabis being prescribed and the nature of those prescriptions, particularly for people with known serious mental illnesses.
In Leigh’s case, the Royal Court heard that he tried to claim he had been pressured into handling the drugs by a loan shark – but evidence on his phone showed he was actively selling cannabis, including to at least one medicinal user who said their prescription was delayed.
He first said he needed the money for an ADHD diagnosis for his child, but then changed his story to say that the money was needed for a private MRI for his back.
Advocate Hollywood said that when Leigh appeared at the Magistrate’s Court on 14 February, he had initially pleaded not guilty, but at his indictment in the Royal Court, he admitted the charges of possession of drugs with intent to supply them and possession of criminal property.
Leigh has no previous convictions for drugs, but a few for motoring offences and one for shoplifting dating back 30 years.
The Crown Advocate said he was considered at low risk of reconviction and recommended a sentence of five years and four months.
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending, argued for a shorter sentence.
Advocate Dix explained Leigh was a devoted father and grandfather who had lost his hair and beauty business and had been unable to rebuild it after Covid, and had needed to supplement his income.
She pointed out: “He was not living a lavish lifestyle.”
Advocate Dix added that Leigh had been using his time in custody well.
“He is teaching the guitar, he is mentoring some of the younger prisoners, and he is helping in the library,” she said.
“He wants to do anything he can in custody to better himself.”
She suggested a sentence of four years and two months.
Commissioner Alan Binnington said Leigh was clearly “a high-level trader within the drug dealing community”, but noted: “There was no evidence to indicate a criminal lifestyle.”
After the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Jim McGranahan from the States Police Drug Squad said: “Individuals like Leigh come to this island and exploit others’ suffering for their own gain, while contributing to the community’s drug problem.”
Meanwhile, the Health Department is planning to ban the advertising of prescribed medicines, including cannabis – a move that will remove large ads currently on display at the airport.
