A Benalla man said he never intended to grow more than 70kg of cannabis when he set out to extract a medical-grade oil from the plant to save prescription costs, a court has heard.

The 36-year-old appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Thursday pleading guilty to cultivating a commercial quantity of cannabis.

The court heard on 14 April 2025 police executed a search warrant at a Sydney Road Benalla property where they seized 26 large weed plants from a shed at the rear of the home.

The cannabis taken totalled 73.65kg on the scales and most of it would be destroyed by police.

Defence counsel Geoff Clancy said his client was growing the illegal plant to extract cannabidiol (CBD oil) for medical use after no longer being able to afford his prescription.

The court heard the man had sustained serious injuries from a “vicious assault” which required facial reconstruction and was prescribed with the non-psychoactive therapeutic for his injury.

Mr Clancy said his client didn’t intend to grow as many plants as he did and the recorded weight of the cannabis was much heavier due to the amount of water stored in the plants.

The explanation was accepted by prosecutor Kieran Malone and initial charges of trafficking the drug were dropped.

“This is a situation where he was simply trying to save rather than sell,” Mr Clancy said.

The court heard the 36-year-old had been convicted of a similar charge of cultivating cannabis 14 years ago.

Magistrate Mark Sabiljak imposed a nine-month community corrections order with conviction, which will include 50 hours of community work.

“Even though it’s not trafficking, the seriousness of the offending still falls under a CCO,” he said.