A man who says he uses marijuana to manage pain was let off with a warning on Friday.
However, 23-year-old Mariano Kelly was warned that any further breaches of the Dangerous Drugs Act will result in a prison sentence.
Kelly pleaded guilty to marijuana possession at his arraignment before Magistrate Algernon Allen Jr.
Police arrested Kelly on November 23 after they found him with two grams of marijuana, valued at $10, during a road check near South Westridge.
During questioning by police, Kelly said that he smoked marijuana for pain management.
In court, Kelly said that he had previously been prescribed Percocet and Vicodin for knee and ankle pain, but those medications had affected his ability to focus.
Kelly said that he worked as a tech analyst at New Providence Classical School on Blake Road, but he was transitioning to a new job as a foreign exchange trader.
Allen said, “I would expect a trader to be clear-headed, so using marijuana is probably not the best thing.”
Kelly, however, insisted that his drug use had not affected his work.
Allen told Kelly notwithstanding his views on the marijuana use, it was illegal. Consequently, he advised Kelly to find an alternative method to deal with his pain.
He said, “This court is guided by law and the law says you’re not allowed to have it. The court will caution and discharge you, sir, but you can’t smoke marijuana anymore. You’e gonna have to manage your pain another way.
This will be your last warning, sir. If you come back here, I’m going to send you to jail. No fine, because I’ve already warned you.”
Kelly assured the court that he would be able to quit his marijuana habit because he had done so in the past.
