A Newport man who was stopped by Police after they thought he had committed a traffic offence was found to be driving whilst under the influence of cannabis, a court has heard.
Oliver Attrill, 32, of Blackwater Road in Newport, pleaded guilty to drug driving when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court on Tuesday (1st August).
Ann Smout, prosecuting, told the court that on 18th April 2023, an on-duty Roads Policing Officer (RPU) was drawn to a Fiat Ducato van after they thought they saw Attrill using a mobile device whilst driving.
As he stepped out the vehicle, having pulled over for Police, officers noticed that Attrill smelt of cannabis. A roadside drugs wipe returned a positive reading for THC – the breakdown product of cannabis.
Having been taken to Newport Police Station, a blood sample was taken which returned a reading of 2.9ug/l – the legal limit is 2.0ug/l.
Defending, Henry Farley said that his client had resorted to smoking cannabis after the breakdown of a long-term relationship and that he didn’t believe the drug would be in his system for so long.
Magistrates handed Attrill an 18-month community order with 60 hours of unpaid work attached. He was also handed an 18-month driving ban and ordered to pay a £114 surcharge fee and £85 costs.
good old isle of Wight keep it up
Very lenient punishment for such a crime.
Throw the book at him.
Throw the book at you with your bad work
Well after much searching on Google I still can’t find a single case of anyone who crashed a car whilst under the influence of cannabis ! How strange
Eat shroomz. They dont show up on the drug swab
I would get a new computer , there are numerous medical studies and loads of statistics proving a causal link .
Your comment is simply untrue. There should be zero blood level limits for all illegal drugs , and alcohol too,
Then there is no room for clever defence lawyers to get people off. Impaired drivers cost lives.
Smoke weed then drive we all do it so get with the times
Why not extend testing for prescription drugs? Half the IOW is on opioid painkillers.