Gene Deniso De Waal, 52, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this week where Judge David Robinson remarked on an extensive criminal history.
Take away the cannabis crimes and he only had three minor convictions to his name.
Counsel Ann Leonard said De Waal suffered chronic back pain and the class-C substance was the only thing that gave him relief.
Growing it had seen the defendant repeatedly fall foul of the law but now he could stop his horticultural endeavours.
The recent prescription for medicinal cannabis meant it was "extremely unlikely" De Waal would be back in the dock, Ms Leonard said.
When police raided the defendant’s rural property in March, they found a cultivation set-up that had been in use for more than a year.
De Waal had two cannabis plots in the back garden.
One featured 10 plants, the other 15, the crop ranging from 1m to 3m in height.
Ms Leonard emphasised the lack of sophistication in the outdoor grow.
De Waal simply scattered the seeds on the ground and let nature take its course, she said.
Officers uncovered evidence of the long-running nature of the enterprise as they searched the property.
There were plants hanging from beams in a garage, buckets containing leaf and head, drying crates and a black bag containing about 3000 cannabis seeds.
In total, they found 3.21kg of head and 550g of leaf material.
"In the time I’ve been a judge that’s the most cannabis head I’ve seen recovered," the judge said.
He was shocked, given the quantity of the drug seized, that De Waal had only been charged with cultivation and not possession for supply.
While there was no evidence of selling, Judge Robinson believed there must have been.
But De Waal was adamant it was all for personal use and told his lawyer he used a pound (450g) a week.
He was sentenced to 200 hours’ community work and warned if he breached the sentence he would be jailed.
