Three men who were taken to court yesterday on narcotics charges all claimed that the marijuana found in their possession was for medicinal purposes.
Kareem Lovell pleaded guilty when the charge of having half a gramme of cannabis in his possession was read to him by Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty. According to Lovell, he was suffering from a cold and had been using the marijuana to alleviate the illness.
In a separate case, Michael Anthony and Andy Batson also pleaded guilty when the charge of possessing half a gramme of cannabis was read to them. Like Lovell, the co-defendants claimed that the marijuana was for medication.
All three men were held with the illegal substance at the ‘Captain Meets the King’ concert held on Saturday at the Providence National Stadium featuring Jamaican artistes Beenie Man and Freddie McGregor.
According to Prosecutor Bentham, the men were seen by police officers with wrapped papers in their hands. When they were approached and searched, the wrapped papers revealed seeds, leaves and stems suspected to be cannabis.
They were taken to the Providence Police Station where the suspected substance was weighed and amounted to half a gramme.
Lovell, Anthony and Batson were each fined $3,000 and 10 hours of community service.
On Monday, another man had appeared before Magistrate Faith Mc Gusty for the possession of 2 grammes of cannabis. The man, Mark Blackman, had also claimed that the marijuana found on him was a form of asthma medication. He was fined $3,000 and given 30 hours of community service.
