A man who was described as a “weekend cocaine user” got behind the wheel while nearly eight times the limit.
Jon MacLeod, 20, was initially stopped by police in Kemnay because he had forgotten to put his lights on – but officers then smelled cannabis in the car and took him in for preliminary blood tests.
When police later tested him MacLeod was found to have both cocaine and a cocaine metabolite – a byproduct of the body breaking down a drug into a different substance – in his system.
The amount of cocaine metabolite in his blood showed that he was nearly eight times the limit for driving.
He was also found in possession of a small amount of cannabis and cocaine.
MacLeod, a building apprentice, pleaded guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to four charges of driving with high levels of cocaine and cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine in his bloodstream.
He also admitted to two charges of being in possession of cannabis and cocaine.
Accused’s fate was sealed by blood test
Fiscal depute Kiril Bonavino told the court that MacLeod was stopped on Paradise Road in Kemnay in the early hours of June 20 last year after cops spotted he didn’t have the car lights on.
“The accused was found to be the driver, however, minutes later police officers noticed a strong smell of cannabis and he was cautioned,” he said.
“At this time the officers recovered a cannabis grinder containing green herbal substance and a number of self-seal bags containing white residue were also found.”
Back a Kittybrewster Police Station, MacLeod gave a blood sample that showed he had 14 microgrammes of cocaine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 10mg per litre.
His blood was also found to contain 383 microgrammes of the cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine per litre of blood. The legal limit is 50mg per litre.
‘He knows that he’ll be disqualified’
Defence agent Neil McRobert told the court that MacLeod, who was 19 at the time of the offence, was an “occasional weekend user” of cocaine.
He said: “He accepts that he had taken cocaine the previous night, he acknowledges that, and he tells me that at the time he was an occasional user at weekends.
“He knows that he will be disqualified.”
Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison described the offence as “a substantial amount of drugs to have in your system while driving”.
However, he deferred sentence on MacLeod, of Mitchell Gardens, Kinellar, in order for a criminal justice social work report to be carried out.
Sheriff Grant-Hutchison also banned MacLeod from driving until his sentencing.
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