Daniel Peters allowed drug dealers to grow cannabis in his Dunstable flat to pay off his debts to them.
Police raided the address in Quarry Walk on October 26, 2019 and found tents and hydroponic equipment, Luton Crown Court heard on Friday, January 15, 2021.
Earlier, three men posing as police officers had gone to his home and removed the plants, said Simon Ward prosecuting.
When questioned, Peters said he had been forced to grow the plants because he had built up drug debts. He said he watered them occasionally and believed he would be given some of the cannabis for his own use.
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Peters, 27, now of Aldbanks, Dunstable, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to allowing his premises to be used for the supply of cannabis.
Defending, Carl Woolf said unemployed Peters had mental health issues.
Recorder Tim Clark QC told him: “More sophisticated criminals persuaded you to allow your premises to be used for a cannabis grow.”
The judge sentenced him to an 18-month community order, with six months drug rehabilitation, 19 days on a thinking skills programme and a further 15 days rehabilitation.
