Joshua Sutherland, 20, of William Street, Bathurst, in Bathurst Court for buying cannabis

Joshua Sutherland, 20, of William Street, Bathurst, was before Bathurst Local Court on May 31, 2023 when he pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited drug.

Police documents before the court said police were doing high visibility patrols of William Street in Bathurst at about 11.30pm on April 5, 2023 when they saw two young people, including Sutherland, who had a bottle of Woodstock bourbon and cola.

Police said they were speaking with Sutherland - who was in a public area where alcohol is prohibited - when they saw another bottle of Woodstock half empty on the ground outside a shop.

Sutherland denied drinking the alcohol or giving it to a young person, according to police, and was then asked if he had anything illegal on him.

"I'll be honest, I have a bit of cannabis," Sutherland said, according to the police documents.

Police said they searched Sutherland and found two small foil balls with green vegetable matter inside.

Sutherland said they were cannabis and he had bought it from someone in Russell Street for personal use, according to the police documents.

The drugs were seized and were weighed at 1.95 grams at Bathurst Police Station.

After reading documents tendered by police, Magistrate C Longley asked Sutherland in open court why he felt the need to have cannabis.

"Just for curiosity," Sutherland replied.

Sutherland was convicted and fined $250 for the offence.

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