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The oft-used “personal use” argument didn’t go over well with a U.K. judge who offered a tongue-lashing to a 50-year-old, father of five found with a kilogram of cannabis in late 2020.

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According to Wales Online, the man has been sentenced to 12 months of incarceration. In handing down the sentence, the judge called it a “fallacy to suggest that cannabis was a drug without consequences.”

The judge reportedly told the court the man’s motivation for dealing drugs seemed to be greed and that, in doing so, he was “spreading that misery around the city.”

An examination of the man’s phone apparently showed messages revolving around supplying and delivering cannabis.

With recreational weed still being illegal throughout the U.K., the man was nabbed with the hefty stash in November of 2020 after earlier being found with a considerably smaller amount inside his vehicle.

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Patrolling police officers spied a speeding vehicle and decided to follow it. They saw the driver exit the vehicle briefly and then return, per Wales Online.

A search revealed 20 grams of cannabis in the passenger footwell — where his partner had been sitting, with a child in the backseat — and £320 ($544) in cash.

A later search of the home the man shared with his long-time partner did not uncover any cannabis, but the surrounding property did. In all, the cannabis confiscated from both the car and property reportedly amounted to 1.3 kilograms.

Although rarely treated so harshly, cannabis possession in the U.K. allows for a prison term of as long as five years, an unlimited fine or both.

According to Release, “the first time you are caught in possession of a small amount of any drug for personal use, you may get an out of court disposal. This could be a community resolution or a conditional caution.” A person “might be charged with possession if you have had cautions or convictions for similar offences before, or if you have more than a small amount of drugs on you.”

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That was not the approach taken by the judge in the latest case. The man pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

The “personal use” argument has been tried plenty of times before, including at lease some in the U.K.

Last spring, for example, a man pulled over while carrying 33 pounds (15 kilograms) of pot was jailed for more than two years despite claiming the drug was for personal use.

That was the argument used by a 29-year-old, self-employed car dealer caught driving high. Discovered with a small amount of cannabis that he said was solely for his personal use, he was, nonetheless, handed a 12-month driving ban.

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