JUDGE HAS MIND OF HER OWN ON POT SENTENCE

KITCHENER, Ont. -- A judge has given a pot grower a stiffer sentence
than even the Crown prosecutor had asked for.

Justice Margaret Woolcott said she thought the 18-month sentence for
marijuana production proposed by Crown lawyer Brian Puddington was
"inadequate to meet the ends of justice."

Instead, she gave Thanh Van Dao 23 months in jail for his involvement
in two marijuana grow operations. -- one in St. Thomas, Ont., and the
other in Kitchener.

The judge found it especially aggravating that Dao was out on bail for
the St. Thomas matter when he started his own grow operation in the
Kitchener home he shared with his wife and four children.

It showed a "total disregard for the law" and set a bad example for
his children, Woolcott said.

Dao, 42, pleaded guilty to two charges of producing marijuana and two
counts of possessing pot for the purpose of trafficking, as well as
stealing hydro.

Dao went into operation for himself because he was having financial
trouble, court heard.