Mum, son in drug grip

By Cam Lucadou-Wells

A Pakenham mother has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking after a police dawn-raid of her home in March, a court has heard.
Despite her plea, Deborah Burford disagreed over the alleged amount of methamphetamine – about 13 grams – seized in 20 sealed bags from her handbag on 7 March.
In a police interview, Burford said she’d bought 7 grams of methamphetamine the day before, dividing them into lots of 0.3 grams.
During the raid, police also seized a syringe of methamphetamine, cash and a notebook of names and addresses from Burford’s bedroom.
Her 23-year-old son was charged with possession of two 0.1 gram-bags of ‘ice’ and a bag of cannabis seized from his bedroom.
Burford had relapsed into drug abuse during a “destructive” relationship with an “on-and-off” partner, a defence lawyer told Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 22 May.
Just days before the police raid, Burford’s partner had moved out of the rental property.
The relationship started after the death of Burford’s husband; her lifelong battle with “severe depression” also re-kindled at this time, the lawyer said.
“She hasn’t been able to re-engage properly with mental health services,” the lawyer told the court.
“She hasn’t seen a GP because she hasn’t been able to leave the house due to her stress (about) court.”
Magistrate Pauline Spencer said that prior to sentencing, she needed to know if drug use was causing the mental health issues, or vice versa.
“You’re in a serious legal position, but it seems there’s some underlying issues that I need to get a handle on – and you need to get a handle on.”
Ms Spencer ordered psychiatric and drug counselling reports from Forensicare and the South Eastern Consortium of Alcohol and Drug Agencies (SECADA).
Burford will appear for sentencing at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 28 August.