Cannabis smoker was caught at over three times the drug-driving limit

A cannabis smoker was caught driving when he was over three times the legal drug-driving limit.
Court hearing.Court hearing.
Court hearing.

Chesterfield magistrates’ court heard on Wednesday, May 30, how Lewis Mee, 20, of Saxton Avenue, Heanor, had been smoking cannabis before he was stopped while driving by police on New Bath Road, at Matlock Bath.

Prosecuting solicitor Marianne Connally said: “An officer believed he could smell cannabis and asked the defendant to take a drug test and it was recorded as a fail and cannabinoids were detected.”

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Mee admitted that he had been smoking about an hour previously and he confirmed to police that he was not properly insured to drive his friend’s car.

He registered seven microgrammes of a controlled drug, namely Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, in his blood per 100millilitres when the legal limit is two milligrammes, according to the court.

Mee pleaded guilty to exceeding the drug-drive limit and also admitted driving without insurance after the incident on February 10.

Defence solicitor John Last said there was no indication why he was asked to stop by police when he had been driving his friend’s car with permission and he saw flashing blue lights and pulled over.

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Mr Last added that with drugs it is more difficult than with alcohol to know if you are over the limit because it is difficult to gauge the strength of cannabis.

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Mee is insured to drive his own vehicle, according to Mr Last, and he thought he might therefore have been okay to drive his friend’s vehicle.

Mr Last said Mee works in the construction industry and he has had to change his job because he knows he will be banned from driving and it may be difficult for him to keep his new position without a licence.

Magistrates fined Mee £300 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.