The courts Jail for LSD counts

Press, 22 June 1979, Page 14

The courts Jail for LSD counts

A amn, wno had no previous convictions, was jailed 1 for seven years in the Supreme Court yesterday on' two charges of possession of j LSD for supply. His wife,' who appeareu for sentence on two identical charges as well as a charge of simple possession of LSD, and who had two previous con-j victions for drug offences,! was jailed for 18 months., The sentences were imposed by Mr Justice Casey.

Graham John Josephs, aged -'7, a former rock band musician and band promoter! ai d agent, wa; failed fori seven years on charges of: being in possession of LSD; for supplv at Leithfield Beach on February 2 and 3. His wife, Wendy Dawn Jo-! sepns, aged 2(* a domestic 1 purposes bety-ficiary, was jailed for 18 months on the same charges as well as a! charge of simple possession: of ISU On February 19: Wendy Josephs was placed i on probation for two years, ir thn Magistrate’s Court on| charges of possession of. Lb/- and cannabis. Evidence was given at the trial last week that the, police intercepted a letter! to a fictitious per-1 son. "M. Watkins,” at the' Post Office in the Waikuku

Beach store. It was found to contain 1000 tabs of LSD.: All but 40 of the tabs were removed and blank paper was substituted. Wendv Josephs asked for mail for “M. Watkins” when, collecting her own letters! and was given the envelope. Police and customs officers! mounted an intensive oper-‘ ation to trace where the LSD was destined. She took the envelope to her husband’s address at Leithfield Beach. At the time they! were living apart and she! was residing at Waikuku Beach. 1

When ponce and customs ‘officers raided Graham Jo-i sephs’ home they found the! envelope, which had been! 1 intercepted, was empty, and! canisters of drugs were! found in the house and onj the property. Mr G. H. Nation, for Graham Josephs, said that his client did not intend to sell the 1000 tabs of LSD as he was merely a link in the chain of supply. The tabs were to be

passed on to others in the drug network and Graham Josephs, who was a substantial user of LSD, would have been given some of the drug for himself. He was not a pusher of drugs, but rather a victim of them.

Graham Josephs’ involvement with drugs arose from his work in the pop and rock music fields, first las a musician and later as a ! promoter of bands. It resulted in a high-pressure I itinerant lifestyle in which I the use of drugs was fairly (common. I Mr T. M. Abbott, for Wendy Josephs, said that she accepted that she faced a lengthy term of imprison-! , ment. In the past she had | used LSD but not in recent [years. It was her husband who accepted the major responsibility for the offences.

From the evidence, his ‘Honour said that he drew the conclusion that Wendy : Josephs' was involved in a much less substantial way! than her husband. He would take into ! account the time she had spent in prison and her' ! family obligations but the offences were serious and bad to be met with im- j prisonmen t. In G-aham Joseph’s case it was his duty to impose a deterrent sentence as that was what was clearly envisI aged by the Act, said his 'Honour.