A DRUG dealer was found with half a kilo of cannabis and a stun gun at Oxford Brookes University.

Joseph Byrne, who has a previous conviction for possessing a stun gun, was given a suspended prison sentence at Oxford Crown Court on Friday.

Police found the 22-year-old hanging around by a car at an un-named hall of residence on September 23, 2009, but he was only charged last June.

Byrne, of Nunnery Close, Greater Leys, Oxford, had a total of 512 grams of cannabis with a wholesale value of about £2,185, the court heard.

He also had a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone and £923 in cash.

At an earlier hearing he admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and a Class B drug with intent to supply.

The defendant was previously given unpaid work and a curfew for firing a stun gun outside the Kasbah cafe bar in Cowley Road, Oxford, three weeks before he was arrested at Brookes.

Jose Olivares-Chandler, defending, said: “He was just 19 at the time and had, for a few years, experimented with cannabis.

“It got to the level where his use was extremely heavy, to the extent that he found himself in financial difficulty.

“He took the decision to work for his dealer to reduce his drug debt.”

Mr Olivares-Chandler said his client had stayed out of trouble and in employment ever since.

The court heard Byrne had been diagnosed with stress and anxiety problems.

Recorder Simon Blackford said: “The time when cannabis was regarded as a safe, recreational drug that people could take without harm has long gone.

“It is capable of causing real misery and harm to people’s health, and indeed their mental health.”

He added: “The combination of these two offences is a very worrying one. I regard these offences as so serious they cannot be dealt with by way of a community order.”

Byrne was given a three-month jail term, suspended for a year, with 12 months’ supervision.

He must also obey a weekend curfew for three months.

He was also told to pay £1,500 costs, and the money seized by police at the scene was confiscated.