A father of two has just been jailed for 20 months because he was caught growing his own cannabis... eight years ago. 

Walter Desira said he smoked cannabis to help him sleep because he was being kept away by the prescription medication he was taking for a health condition. After spending some time buying cannabis from a drug dealer in Qormi, Desira decided to grow the plant for himself. 

"The court accepted his statement that he never gave or sold marijuana to anyone else"

Even though he was caught with 14 pots, the court accepted his statement that he never gave or sold marijuana to anyone else. The magistrate dropped the trafficking charges, after agreeing there was no evidence to counter his claims.

The court also noticed something else. Walter Desira had since stopped smoking to save his marriage, after his wife put her foot down. 

"Noting that the man appeared to have changed his ways after a difficult period in his life, the court imposed a punishment close to the minimum," MaltaToday wrote.

But the minimum still means that eight years down the line, Walter Desira must now spend 20 months away from his family in jail and pay a fine of €3,000. Just because he self-medicated with cannabis for a while.

If only he kept buying from his drug dealer...