MAN JAILED FOR DRUG-DEALER PAST

Historical drug dealing has landed a man behind bars, soon after he
struggled to get a job.

Gregory Robert Clarke, who admitted charges of conspiring to supply a
Class B drug, seven counts of offering to supply a Class B drug and
one of supplying a Class B drug, was jailed for 16 months by
Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders.

The judge said that in 2005, Dunedin police became concerned about the
availability of drugs such as LSD and ecstasy in the party scene.

A police operation identified a supplier, with cellphone texts
revealing contact between Clarke and the man, whose name is suppressed.

It was established Clarke was prepared to deal in ecstasy for the
purpose of on-selling.

Clarke, 29, initially denied offending, saying he dealt only in
"herbal highs".

The judge said that type of offending carried a maximum penalty of 14
years jail, the same as aggravated robbery.

While Clarke could get credit for getting himself out of the drug
scene, overcoming health problems and landing a good job, in the end
it was commercial drug dealing, the judge said.

"I regret to say that to resile from jail would rob the sentence of
its deterrent nature," he said.

Lawyer Paul Norcross said that given the positive changes to Clarke's
life, immediate-start home detention should be considered as an
alternative to jail, which would result in the loss of his job.

The short-term offending was at the lower end for its type. Any
financial gain was minimal, Clarke having slipped into drug use by
using the substances socially, Norcross said.

The judge said Clarke would get a significant discount from the
Crown's suggested starting point of up to four years jail.

It was a stark choice between home detention or jail, but he was bound
by the Court of Appeal and his hands were tied.

Clarke would be eligible for parole after eight months. It was sad he
would lose his job, but he had family support and, as an otherwise
intelligent man, had the ability to re-establish himself, the judge
said.