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Premium Content Subscriber only A Gladstone man who was busted drug driving was taking his mother to an appointment, a court heard. John Derek O’Driscoll, 62, pleaded guilty to the charge in the Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Police prosecutor Carl Spargo read the facts of O’Driscoll’s case to the court and Acting Magistrate Paul Byrne. Police intercepted O’Driscoll driving a Toyota wagon on Wyndham Ave, Boyne Island on March 3, around 9.11am. He submitted to a roadside drug test which returned a positive indication for a relevant drug. When questioned, O’Driscoll stated he had smoked cannabis the evening prior to being intercepted by police. ....
Premium Content A Bargara woman admitted to smoking three bongs before driving in Gladstone, a court heard. Jane Deborah Van Meegen, 52, pleaded guilty in the Gladstone Magistrates Court on Tuesday to drug driving. Prosecutor Kelvin Boyd read the facts of Van Meegen’s case to the court and Acting Magistrate Ron Muirhead. Police from the Calliope Road Policing Unit intercepted Van Meegen on Dawson Road, West Gladstone at 10.13am on March 15. Van Meegen submitted to a roadside drug test which returned a positive result and she was taken to the Gladstone Police Station for further testing. When questioned, Van Meegen admitted to smoking three bongs which contained cannabis and could offer no emergency reason for driving. ....
Premium Content Subscriber only How long cannabis users stay impaired or stoned has been discovered by researchers at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, as medicinal cannabis prescriptions exceed 100,000 nationwide. As legal cannabis is prescribed more regularly, lead researcher Dr Danielle McCarthy and associates conducted the most comprehensive study so far into cannabis impairment. While the intoxicating ingredient in marijuana, THC, can be detected for weeks after consumption, researchers found people remained impaired for between three and 10 hours after consuming moderate to high doses of cannabis. The Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics was launched at Sydney University after Barry and Joy Lambert made a $33.7 million donation for research into the therapeutic use of medicinal cannabis. ....
Police spoke to Taylor who appeared disorientated and was not making sense. She was scratching and rubbing her face while police spoke to her and was vague and sluggish to respond. She was swaying as if unbalanced and had pinpointed pupils. She returned a negative breath test and was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. Taylor was taken to the hospital for blood to be taken however attempts to extract blood were unsuccessful due to heavy scarring on her veins from extensive needle use. When questioned about when she last used an illegal drug, she said she was on the methadone program and had not used any other drugs. ....
The court was told Woodward had major and minor driving offences within the past five years. Defence lawyer Cassandra Ditchfield said the drugs were detected days after he had used them and he was not affected at the time. âHe was actually coming home from work,â Ms Ditchfield said. She said the knife police located on January 2 this year was found in his belt and heâd forgotten heâd had it. She said her client was a concreter looking for work. Woodward was fined $800 and disqualified from driving for 12 months. He was warned to get rid of his car and not be tempted to drive. ....