Smoking "weed" in an increased penalty zone has cost a student $1,800 after he pleaded guilty to being in possession of 0.39 grams of cannabis.

In Magistrates' Court yesterday Daniel Dickinson, 19, of Eastside Drive, Pembroke admitted to Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner to having the controlled drug on January 3 in Pembroke in the area of Admiralty House.

Crown Counsel Wayne Caines told the court that Police visited Admiralty House and approached a group of young men after reports of several motorcycles scrambling in the area

The defendant's behaviour aroused the suspicion of an officer and he searched Dickinson under the Misuse of Drugs Act. During the search Dickinson admitted to having something in the pockets of his pants. When asked by the officer what it was, Dickinson replied that it was marijuana.

Mr. Warner fined Dickinson $800 for possession of 0.39 grams of cannabis and $1,000 for possession of a controlled drug in an increased penalty zone.

Expatriate Todd Bottger, 23 of Watlington Lane, Devonshire also pleaded guilty to possessing 0.07 grams of cannabis when he appeared in court yesterday.

Crown Counsel Wayne Caines told the court that on April 30 at 1 a.m. in Hamilton parish, Bottger was assisting the Police on a separate matter when the Police discovered he had a plastic bag containing green plant-like material in the pockets of his pants.

He admitted to having marijuana and was arrested on suspicion of having a controlled drug.

Mr. Warner fined Bottger $800 for possession of 0.07 grams of cannabis or spend 80 days in custody.