St Albans man Anh Tran was sentenced via video link at Melbourne County Court on Wednesday, March 10.
Detectives raided a Railway Rd address on June 16 last year where they found 221 plants weighing 191kg through six rooms of the house and three further areas in outside sheds.
On the day of the raid, police found two cars belonging to Tran at the property.
Inside one of the cars a wallet was found containing a handwritten note in Vietnamese explaining how to cultivate cannabis.
Tran pleaded guility to the single charge and his legal representative indicated since being bailed, his client had found employment.
In providing reasoning for the sentence, Judge Michael McInerney said Tran had committed the crime “out of desperation” to support his wife and young child.
“Albeit that Mr Tran’s role is apparently accepted as a crop-sitter only, it is important to understand any role in this criminality is subject to condign punishment,” Mr McInerney said.
“While the prosecution has accepted Mr Tran as a crop-sitter and charged him as to the offence occurring on one day only, such approach in my view is very generous in the circumstances where there is evidence of involvement for approximately one month and the crop was aged between 10 and 14 weeks.
“I consider the correct approach that should have been taken to this is to proceed on the basis there was uncertainty as to Mr Tran’s role.
“Clearly given Mr Tran’s accepted role, unknown persons or syndicates have used his situation to protect themselves from detection.”
Tran was given a non-parole period of two years, with 44 days already served in detention.
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