A drug driver has been banned from the road after he was caught by Perth police with a packet of cannabis-laced cola bottles.
Connor Munro had the illegal gummies when he was stopped by officers in the city’s Newhouse Road.
Police also uncovered hundreds of pounds worth of herbal cannabis in his glove box.
Munro, 25, admitted being behind the wheel while over the permitted drug-driving limit on March 16, last year.
He pleaded guilty to a further charge of cannabis possession.
Cola bottles in his jumper
Fiscal depute Nicole Lewis told the court: “At about 10pm, police on patrol had their attention drawn to the accused’s vehicle.
“They had cause to speak to the driver and approached the vehicle.
“They noticed a strong smell of cannabis coming from inside.
“At this point, the accused volunteered that there was cannabis in the car.”
Ms Lewis said Munro provided a sample of saliva for a roadside breath test.
“The accused was searched and police found a packet of cola bottles in his jumper,” she said.
“The packaging clearly indicated they were cannabidiol, containing THC.”
Officers also found a small wrap and two larger packages of herbal matter, recovered from the glove box.
The drugs weighed about 42g and had an approximate street value of £420, the court heard.
The 45g packet of cola bottles were worth around £40.
Munro, of The Rookery, Perth, was just over the permitted limit with a reading of 2.4 mics of THC or Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol – the psychoactive substance that produces the ‘high’ associated with marijuana – in his blood. The legal limit is 2 mics.
Cannabis use increased
Solicitor Jamie Baxter, defending, said Munro had been taking cannabis socially for about two years prior to the offence.
“This occurred after the pandemic outbreak,” he said. “He had been furloughed for eight months, and he has only recently returned to work.
“He accepts that while he was furloughed, he was consuming more cannabis than he normally would have.”
Mr Baxter said: “He had consumed cannabis, but he thought it would have been out of his system by the time he got in his car.
“It’s not a case that he was taking cannabis while he was driving.
“He had only driven a couple of miles.”
The court heard Munro had not used cannabis since the event.
Sheriff Francis Gill fined Munro £600 and disqualified him from driving for 16 months.
“Driving while under the influence of drugs is extremely dangerous, both for you and for other road users,” he said.
If drugs are illegal, why are there legal limits for drug-driving?
