Marmite fails to disguise cannabis package

A woman who tried to send cannabis oil through the mail attempted to disguise any smell by smearing its wrappings with Marmite, the Wanganui District Court has heard.

Lucy Anne Nixon, 38, pleaded guilty in front of Judge David Cameron in the Wanganui District Court to manufacturing cannabis oil, supplying cannabis oil and cultivating cannabis.

On January 25, Nixon attempted to send 2.1 grams of cannabis oil by courier to a friend in Christchurch who was having a difficult time.

In order to try and disguise what she was sending, she wrapped the drugs up in plastic bags smeared with Marmite and stuffed the bundle into a soft toy.

She then took the package to a courier company but police were alerted when the courier became suspicious of the peculiar smell emanating from it.

A search of Nixon's home found other items related to the manufacture of cannabis oil and chopped cannabis leaf material fried in butter in the fridge.

Nixon's counsel, Stephen Ross, said she had no criminal history and was willing to undertake rehabilitation programmes.

A pre-sentence report on Nixon revealed she worked as a chef and that she had a harmful background of drug use.

Judge Cameron said it was an aggravating factor that she had offended across a wide spectrum in the sense she had grown the cannabis, produced the oil, and supplied it to others. He saw a degree of sophistication and preparation in her dispatch of the drugs to the South Island.

The judge sentenced her to three months' home detention, with six months' post-release conditions.