Man who once had four bullets removed from his body following a shooting said he was using cannabis for pain relief
A man who once had four bullets removed from his body following a shooting and who was using cannabis for pain relief has been fined £250 after being caught with 40 grammes of the Class B controlled drug.
John Joseph Hunter (39), of Oakburn in Antrim town, was detected with the drugs on April 25 this year.
A prosecutor told Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena, police searched the defendant's address.
The defendant, who had a record, admitted possessing cannabis and told police he "self-medicates for pain relief".
A defence solicitor said the defendant had been "the victim of a shooting on February 18, 2023. He was shot four times and had to have four bullets removed from his body. As a result of that he has been trying to manage pain relief".
The solicitor said the defendant has been prescribed different tablets but some of those have given him heart palpitations and if he takes co-co-codamol he feels the effect of it and can't drive for the rest of that day.
District Judge Nigel Broderick told the defendant: "You are not allowed to self-medicate with an illegal drug" and added: "If you are caught with this drug again it will not be a fine the next time.”