Self medicating recovering drug addict, Ryan Bailey, guilty of possession of methadone

A SELF-medicating drug addict who planned to get clean by buying methadone has been convicted of having a large quantity of the drug.

Ryan Carl Bailey, 28, of 5 Spirelake Close, Bishops Nympton, was arrested on July 23, shortly before starting a ten-week jail sentence for an offence of burglary.

After arriving in custody he was searched and found to have five bottles of methadone containing 411 millilitres in total.

Tim Hook, for the defence, said last year Bailey had been driven to drive off without paying for petrol because of his drug addiction. He was given a drug rehabilitation order for that crime which included a prescription for methadone. But that script lapsed and Bailey decided to get himself clean by buying his own methadone and moving to Weston-super-Mare, where he had been promised work.

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But when he did he failed to stay in touch with probation and was arrested and found with the methadone. Since that arrest Bailey was handed the ten-week sentence for burglary.

Mr Hook said that his client's circumstances were so different now to when the crime was committed that any punishment given would be "anachronistic".

"Because my client is receiving benefits any fine imposed wouldn't be paid for a year. It wouldn't be profitable for society," he said.

Bailey was sentenced to a 12-month community discharge.