A MAN who survives on monthly State grants, yesterday asked the court for a chance to pay a fine on his cocaine charge with money he had saved from the public assistance money.

William Anderson pleaded guilty to having 0.2 grammes of cocaine in his pocket and device to smoke the drug.

He was arrested after midnight on Wednesday at Mt Moriah, San Fernando.

Yesterday Anderson faced San Fernando Fifth Court Magistrate Rae Roopchand.

Earlier in the week he faced another magistrate and a not guilty plea was entered.

Defence attorney Marissa Bobb told the court that Anderson was unemployed and lived off of public assistance because of a leg injury.

She said that Anderson, 45, of San Fernando used the illegal drug to help alleviate the pain to his leg.

Speaking on Anderson's behalf, Bobb said should he be given a fine, he would use the money he saved from his monthly cheques to pay the fine.

But the magistrate did not appreciate that Anderson was involving his government assisted money with drugs.

He perused Anderson's criminal record which showed that he had convictions from since 1990.

Anderson had 14 convictions over the last 15 years.

"You are not learning at all... You're not making any effort to come off drugs," Roopchand said.

Roopchand advised that Anderson could have accessed pain-killers at the hospital.

He sentenced Anderson to 12 months in prison for having the drugs and three months for the device.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

He will serve a year in jail.

Roopchand told Anderson to make use of the drug rehabilitation programme while in prison.