Teenage boy was "exploited" by drug dealers

Wednesday 22 May 2024

A teenage boy who used cannabis for his ADHD was "groomed" by young adults into selling drugs to pay for his own habit, a court has heard.

The child, who cannot be named due to his age, was caught with hundreds of pounds' worth of cannabis, amphetamine and ketamine and yesterday sentenced to 120 hours of community service by the Youth Court.

He admitted three counts of possessing drugs with intent to supply, two of being concerned in the supply of drugs, as well as one charge of driving without a licence and one of failure to display a window insurance disc.

Legal Adviser Samantha Morris, prosecuting, yesterday described how the investigation into the teenager's activities had formed part of a wider police operation, and that the offence in question had involved "a level of exploitation by some older youths as well as younger adults".

Drug discovery

The teenager had used cannabis to help with his ADHD, the court heard, and had heard through word-of-mouth and social media that some young islanders were getting involved in dealing drugs.

But these young adults, the advocate said, took advantage of young people's use, asking them to pay for their own usage by dealing drugs.

When the teenager was finally apprehended last year, officers found some cannabis resin which was for personal use – along with seven tubes with cannabis leaves and 28 tablets with Netflix logos on them. The tablets were later tested and found to contain amphetamine.

He also had two small bags of ketamine on him.

The drugs were valued at around £20 for the cannabis, £260-£390 for the amphetamine, and £480-£640 for the ketamine.

He also had scales and £175 in cash.

"The fact of the matter is, he was groomed"

Advocate Allana Binnie, defending, said the teenager had struggled with prescribed ADHD medication and had taken cannabis to help with his focus.

"He generally did think that the people he was interacting with were his friends and although they were technically adults, they were young adults or older youths," she explained.

"[The teenager] didn't see them as being significantly older than him.

"The fact of the matter is, he was groomed, he was taken advantage of and his ADHD made it easier for him to be exploited."

Pictured: The teenager was sentenced in the Youth Court on Tuesday.

She explained that he had already been in contact with drug dealers because he had been using cannabis.

"He then became aware, as all of his friends, that young people were given the opportunity to make money by selling drugs."

Through word-of-mouth and social media platforms including Snapchat, she said, "it was quite common knowledge amongst the youth of the island".

"When [the boy] heard the figures involved, he made the foolish decision to become involved."

But once he had started selling drugs, there had been an expectation and pressure to remain involved, and to pay for his own cannabis use by selling the drugs.

"Considerable positive changes"

She added that he had distanced himself from the group involved and that he had made "considerable positive changes of his own volition".

On a different occasion, the same teenager was caught driving a moped two weeks after his licence had expired, and he also hadn't displayed his disc properly. 

Advocate Binnie called the two motoring offences "a genuine oversight".

Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Bridget Shaw said that the offences were "serious", adding that ADHD was not an excuse.

"Lots of people have ADHD and they don't get involved in drug dealing," she said.

The teenager was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, which are equivalent to six months in custody. He has also been asked to pay a £350 fine.

Pictured: The court heard that opportunities to deal drugs were "common knowledge amongst the youth", with news spreading through platforms like Snapchat.