A 48-year-old Cowra man has been given a 12 month supervised community corrections order at Cowra Local Court.
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Michael Peter Camps of Liverpool Street represented himself before Magistrate Michael O'Brien, charged with possession of a prohibited drug.
According to police facts around 9.30pm on May 8, a vehicle Camps was the passenger in was stopped by police for random testing.
When police spoke to both Camps and the driver about being in the area, they gave differing versions of why they were together and what they had been doing.
Police informed Camps that he would be searched and was offered a chance to empty out his pockets.
Camps did so taking a small silver battery operated torch out of his right pocket, placing it into his left hand.
Police took the torch and opened it in front of Camps. Inside a small resealable bag containing a small quantity of a white granulated substance was located.
When asked what the substance was Camps told police it was "ice".
Camps admitted to police the drugs were his and for his own personal use.
In sentencing Mr O'Brien questioned how drugs had improved Camps' life.
"Life has plenty of things to offer without dabbling in the use of illicit drugs," he said.
"The only people that profit from it are the drug dealers, the people that take it suffer, their lives spiral downwards.
"I don't think I could tell you of one person who says 'taking drugs is the best thing I ever did'."
Camps said they hadn't, telling the court he had almost lost his job because of his drug use and was now seeking counselling.
Mr O'Brien also questioned if Camps would want to see his daughter taking illicit drugs.
"You wouldn't want her, I'm sure, dabbling in illicit drugs. You don't want to see that downward spiral," he said.
"But unless you act in the way you would like her to act you may well find that she becomes a statistic of this insidious drug, that does nothing other than to ruin peoples lives.
"It ruins the lives of the people that take it and it reduces the quality of the lives of the family members around them and watch it happen, like a train wreck in slow motion.
"It just gives me cause for despair that intelligent people knowing what this drug can do continue to use it. The only person who can do anything about it is you."
Camps replied that he wouldn't want to see his daughter using drugs and said he had now had a "pretty good wake up call".
As a condition of Camps sentence Mr O'Brien ordered him to actively engage with all drug and alcohol counselling he was directed to by his supervisor until such time as his attendance was no longer necessary.
