A poorly 70-year-old grew £30,000 worth of cannabis to try and manufacture his own oil for pain relief.
Melvyn Elliott was "gravely troubled", said his lawyer, when an MRI scan found a problem in his lung, Nottingham Crown Court heard.
The enterprising pensioner turned to the internet to research an answer and discovered cannabis oil could help with health problems.
Police found 24 plants at his address when they executed a search warrant on November 23, 2016.
And he had three kilos of drying cannabis plants - potentially worth £30,000 if sold at £10 per deal or much less if sold at a wholesale price.
Elliott arrived at court on Tuesday (September 19) in a wheelchair.
He pleaded guilty to producing cannabis between August 1 and November 23, 2016, and possessing the drug with intent to supply.
Digby Johnson, mitigating before sentence, said: "The original purpose of the grow was to see if oil could be produced from cannabis to help with health problems.
"He accepts there would be a surplus and would make attempts to sell it."
Elliott, of Hoylake Crescent, Bilborough, bought the equipment to grow the cannabis in his prefabricated home which has no central heating or shower.
Mr Johnson, who did not reveal the extent of his client's health problem in court, said he has been through four months of chemotherapy, and radiotherapy is now due.
"He accepts that what he had was a very valuable product and there was a chance there was more than he needed and it could be sold on," he told the court. "He could put it back into the house for central heating."
Judge John Burgess gave him ten months in prison, suspended for 18 months, concurrently on each charge, and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the cannabis grow.
He told Elliott if it was not for his illness he would have been going to prison and "this was a substantial amount of cannabis you were growing".
"There were 24 plants growing," he told Elliott in the courtroom. "There was a substantial crop already.
"It begs the question why you at 70 should start to grow cannabis and it is likely your illness probably clouded your judgement."
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