A 21-YEAR-OLD male who was caught in possession of herbal cannabis when he was stopped at a vehicle check point finds the class B drug "therapeutic".

When police stopped Andrew James Keys, Castlederg Road, Ederney, in his Ford Focus on May 23, they could smell cannabis in the car.

A search of Keys and the vehicle was conducted and they found 1 gram of herbal cannabis in his trouser pocket.

He conceded it was around �10 worth of cannabis which he had purchased a couple of weeks prior.

But when asked who he had bought it from, he said "no comment".

He told officers he had intended to smoke it at some stage.

Defence solicitor Tommy Owens, told the court his apprentice mechanic client used the drug "very occasionally" and found it "therapeutic".

He added that Keys had suffered a bereavement some months beforehand.

District Judge Liam McNally said it was, nevertheless, still a serious charge since herbal cannabis has now been reclassified from a class C to a class B drug.

Keys was fined �150.