Woman who grew cannabis farm in home to supply drug to girl, 15, dodges jail

Allisia Mackenzie from Perthshire supplied cannabis to a teenager who cannot be named for legal reasons.

A 39-year-old woman who set up a cannabis farm in her home so she could supply the drug to a 15-year-old child has walked free from court. Allisia Mackenzie claimed she was acting as a Good Samaritan to help wean the girl away from solvent abuse by giving her cannabis instead.

But Mackenzie, from Gilmerton, Perthshire, was found guilty of cultivating cannabis at her home and supplying it to the schoolgirl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC said: "I've taken into account what you have said about the predicament you found yourself in. However, in no view could the supply of controlled drugs to a child ever be condoned. You maintain that you had no alternative but to act in the manner you did and that you do not regret your actions. You fully accept responsibility."

She ordered Mackenzie to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and placed her under social work supervision for 18 months as a direct alternative to custody. Perth Sheriff Court heard how Mackenzie set up a cultivation in an upstairs bedroom, got herself a grower's manual and bought a bong from Amazon.

When she was quizzed about the crop by police, she said she was growing the class B drug to help ween a schoolgirl off solvents and improve her mental wellbeing. She said she had feared for the young girl's life after becoming aware that she had become hooked on solvent abuse.

Sheriff Bain told Mackenzie: "I take account of the desperation you may have felt. However, there is no explanation that justifies supplying a child with a controlled drug. In a text message, you referred to the child as a 'little girl' and that is exactly what she was - a little girl who you were supplying with illicit drugs.

"You knew it was illegal, you stated yourself that you would take the consequences for your actions, but you did it anyway. You took it upon yourself to medicate the child with a controlled drug - a drug that could have significant consequences for brain development and mental health."

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The court heard how police executed a search warrant on Mackenzie's home on January 11, 2023. Detective Constable Catherine Knox said officers found a tent in a first floor bedroom.

Under the canvas were four medium-sized cannabis plants, as well lighting, apparatus and cables. Mackenzie told police she kept cannabis inside an "old Victorian dresser drawer" at her home. She said she grew the cannabis crops "so that I'm not buying drugs from dealers off the street."

During her police interview, she admitted ownership of cannabis and said she let the girl smoke it using her glass bong. "I would never do anything to put her at risk," she said. "I need to get this over with."

She was found guilty of supplying cannabis to the child on various occasions between June 1, 2022, and January 11, 2023. Mackenzie was further convicted of possessing and producing cannabis on January 11, 2023, the day police raided her home.

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