sister before he was led off to serve a two-year prison sentence for importing $7,200 worth of heroin into Bermuda.

Puisne Judge the Hon. Mrs. Justice Wade imposed the prison sentence yesterday afternoon after hearing lengthy arguments from lawyers all morning.

Crown counsel Mr Brian Calhoun, citing previous cases and Appeal Court rulings, argued the real issue before the court was the offence of importing a sizeable amount of a prohibited drug.

"If the drugs were for his personal use I am willing to grant that that may be a mitigating factor,'' Mr. Calhoun said. "But the seriousness of the offence extends to the quantity of the drugs that were imported.

"The question is what weight do you place on the defendant's testimony that it was only for his personal use? I respectfully submit, that it is not substantial.'' Referring to three past cases, Mr. Calhoun said: "The onus of proof is on the defendant to convince the court on a balance of probabilities that it was for his personal use.'' Mr. Calhoun said the Court of Appeals had ruled importation was separate from possession for commercial intent and that imported drugs could end up in the hands of a drugs dealer.

"In the past people have said the drugs they were caught and charged with importing were for their own personal use, hoping by so doing they would get a lighter sentence.'' Smith's lawyer, Mr. Timothy Marshall, disagreed. His witnesses, including probation officer Leslee Christopher-Stevens and Bryant Richards of Addiction Services, portrayed Smith as a young, hard-working man whose life was derailed because of heroin addiction.

Smith's mother Yvonne Ross testified that she noticed distinct changes in her son's personality last summer.

"Patrick stopped joking and talking,'' she said. "He would go to his room and stay there for long periods. He didn't normally act like this.

"When I found out Pat was into drugs I went to Addiction Services with my daughter to find out what a person on drugs acts like.'' Mr. Marshall asked Mrs. Justice Wade to give weight to his client's willingness to cooperate with authorities, his plea of guilty, his young age and his remorse.

"My client has no previous record of appearing before the court for drug related offences,'' said Mr. Marshall. "He comes from a very supportive family and independent sources have verified this. These are important mitigating factors.

"My client is a human being first. He is an addict with a severe problem that he has to live with day in and day out for the rest of his life.

"For a heroin addict the proposition of buying a week's supply of heroin for $650 in the US (equivalent to $7,200 in Bermuda) is an enticing proposition.

"Prison is not the ideal place to deal with substance abusers. Addiction Services personnel cannot get proper access to him, he cannot get methadone in prison or the supervision in the form of frequent urine analysis.'' He asked for a sentence of probation with a suspended sentence.'' But Mr. Calhoun said the court must be guided by previous decisions "or else we will end up using hit and miss methods''.

Citing a previous case where the court ordered an 18-month prison term for a man who imported a smaller quantity of heroin, Mr. Calhoun asked for a setence of 18 months to three years.

Mr. Marshall said: "We need a decision that balances the needs of Mr. Smith with the needs of society.'' Mrs. Justice Wade said she believed the drugs were for Smith's own use. She considered his guilty plea and remorse but said the amount of drugs was serious and sentenced him to two years.

Smith's mother described the decision as "heartless''.

"It is about time they started dealing with human beings. Patrick is an addict. He needs help. They have got to stop sending these young black men to prison and start getting them the help they need.

"They could take the money it costs taxpayers to put him up at Casemates and use that to develop better facilities for drug addicts.''