A 49-year-old Edmonton man who pleaded guilty to selling cannabis-infused baked goods has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Mitchell Scott Ennis was initially handed a 25-month sentence by Justice Ken Nielsen before the judge added this would be “unduly harsh” and lowered it to 15 months.
Ennis, who suffers from Crohn’s Disease and said products were sold to people needing them for medical reasons, was charged with several offences, including seven counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking and one count of unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon (a Taser).
He previously pleaded guilty to possession for the purpose of trafficking after police seized products with an estimated value of $300,000 from his home and business, but asked to serve out his sentence under house arrest and pointed out that he is the primary caregiver of his five-year-old daughter. But Nielsen ruled a conditional sentence was not applicable due to the amount of illegal products involved and that, even though Ennis said the trafficking was done partly for humanitarian reasons, there was also a commercial element.
The judge received 55 letters of reference written to vouch for Ennis’ character.
Nielsen said that while the federal government is working on legalizing cannabis laws, he had to base his sentence on current laws.