A MAN caught with nine cannabis plants no longer needed to grow them because the oil he extracted for his back pain could now be bought legally, a court heard.

Imran Mirza, 38, was growing the crop in the cellar at his then address in Bramston Street, Rastrick, Brighouse, when the police called round on April 25, 2019.

Small quantities of harvested cannabis were found in the kitchen and the living room.

Mirza pleaded guilty to production of cannabis but his sentence was held up when he denied possession of the Class B drug with intent to supply it.

Prosecutor Graham O’Sullivan told Bradford Crown Court that the matter was resolved when the Crown accepted that the “dealer bags” found at the address were sandwich bags from Asda.

That prompted Judge David Hatton QC to ask: “What’s the difference between a sandwich bag and a dealer bag?”

Mirza’s barrister, Shufqat Khan, replied that dealer bags were smaller snap-seal bags.

After the Crown had decided that they were sandwich bags they dropped the supply charge, Mr O’Sullivan said, accepting that the cannabis was solely for Mirza’s own use.

Mr Khan said that Mirza no longer grew cannabis and wouldn’t need to anyway because the oil he made from it could now be legally obtained.

He was sentenced to a two-year community order with a six month electronically monitored curfew order at his address in the Huddersfield area.