I heard a theory about the court system: it's like a piece of theatre. The judge playing the part, the cops and the solicitors playing their part and then there's the defendant.
You have no control over what script the rest of them are playing to. But you can write your own script. And I reckon that there are certain scripts that "they" don't want to hear. Like the one about the cannabis laws being unconstitutional and breach of your human rights. Or the one about the judge's son himself being a toker. Or the script about massive, high level government, political and police involvement in the drugs trade.
That's not the kind of theatre that is good for the masses to hear. They are supposed to hear the one about the bad piece of work being sent down by the judge or the foolish but basically kind hearted youngster being given another chance by a sensible court.
So I reckon that if you are determined to play a different script, 'they" might well not want to listen to it. So, they might well drop the case, or rush it through and leave a nominal fine.
Evidence in support of this theory:
1. A large scale medicinal cannabis grower in Norn Iron was initially painted by the media as being a major bust. As he made it clear to the authoritities that he would be vigorously defending his right to grow cannabis on medicinal and human rights grounds, they lost taste for the prosecution. They came to him with an offer - drop the medical and human rights defence, plead guilty and you will get away with a SUSPENDED sentence. Which, after some thought, was what he decided to do. Not a complete victory, but if he had not made his medical/human rights plea, he probably would have gone down for at least a couple of years.
2. A commercial grower in Navan, Co Meath continued growing for a number of years, despite an annual bust. He spoke up for his right to use cannabis, and despite repeatedly appearing in court on new charges (and not paying fines), he only spent an afternoon in jail.
3. While I was waiting in an east London courthouse for my public order charge to be heard, I watched a cheerful teenage black guy in the dock. He was charged with jumping over the ticket barrier in the Underground and with possession of cannabis. The judge asked him: "Well young man, have you anything to say for yourself?" He replied with a grin:"I'm sorry I was caught". The whole place burst out laughing, including the judge. He was fined a minor amount - and more for jumping the barrier than for the cannabis.
4. Election candidate Luke Ming Alexander has repeatedly flouted the laws on cannabis, but has received very minor sentences. He has spent maybe a month in jail, but that's over several years and includes some pretty open taking the piss.
5. The smoke out last year at Bushy Park. The cops knew that a whole bunch of people were openly smoking, but bringing that kind of case to court DOES NOT FIT THE SCRIPT. So they didn't do anything.
There's loads more stuff, and I'm sure everybody reading this will have their own stories to tell: of the copper who doesn't bother prosecuting someone caught with a small amount or who gives people back a nodge after a bust. The system is cracking at sides.
There are some interesting bits from the Constitution, which imply that people have the right to use cannabis.
There's a great article piece on the Irish
druglaws at http://www.angelfire.com/hi/stonersunite/ecc.html.
Check it out - all the detail you'll need.
One very important piece of info from this article is that you cannot be jailed for possession on the first (and even second I think) offence.