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Father-to-be is told to ‘buy baby milk instead of weed’ by magistrate

A Devonshire man in Magistrates’ Court admitted importing cannabis to the Island, but said the offense was completely accidental.Taylor Grier, 23, told the court that when packing his bag, he picked up the wrong pair of pants.According to Crown counsel Cindy Clarke, at 11.50am on May 24, 2010, Grier arrived at LF Wade International Airport on a flight from New Jersey.After passing through the baggage collection area, he was selected by customs for a search. While searching the items in his baggage, a customs officer discovered a small bundle of plant material in the pocket of a pair of jeans.Asked about the material, Grier admitted it was cannabis, and Government analysts said the package contained 2.03g of the drug.In Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Grier pleaded guilty to both importing a controlled substance and a separate charge of driving while disqualified.After Grier pleaded guilty, lawyer Elizabeth Christopher pleaded for leniency, telling Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner that the defendant is both a student and a father-to-be.“He has not had the experience of spending a night in prison,” she said. “That’s never a small matter.”Asked by the magistrate why he brought drugs to the Island, Grier responded: “It was an honest mistake. I picked up the wrong pants.“I have a baby on the way and I’m in school.”Mr Warner responded: “Then why are you messing with this stuff? Buy baby milk instead of weed.”Regarding the charge of driving while disqualified, Mr Warner noted that it was Grier’s second offence, and that repeated incidents of disqualified driving usually lead to a term of imprisonment.“He was warned,” Mr Warner said. “When people come the first time, I take it upon myself to take time and explain to them that driving while disqualified is the end of the road and contemptuous.”Mr Warner fined Grier $5,000 for the offence of importation and $400 and 30 days imprisonment for the charge of disqualified driving.However, he also offered Grier a “package deal,” ordering that if the $5,000 for the drug offence is not paid, Grier will be imprisoned for 30 days with that time running concurrently with the disqualified driving sentence.