A HOUSING manager was caught driving with two illicit drugs in his system after discovering his father had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, a court heard.
Paul Jackman was stopped by police on the A591 at Prizet on the morning of May 29 in a Mercedes Benz Vito, prosecutor Lee Dacre said.
Officers could smell cannabis coming from the vehicle and required the 53-year-old to undertake a roadside DrugWipe test.
He was arrested and taken to Kendal police station after returning a positive reading for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis, and benzoylecgonine, the inactive metabolite formed in the liver when the body breaks down cocaine.
The court heard the lowest readings were 3.9 ug/L and 400 ug/L. The legal limits are 2.0 ug/L and 50 ug/L.
Jackman, of Rydal Road, Ambleside, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to two counts of drug driving
He was represented in court by Ms Begum.
“The defendant used these drugs as a coping mechanism,” she told the court.
“He had received the devastating news of his father being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
“He failed to realise the drugs would stay in his system for some time. He is very remorseful and is ashamed of his behaviour.
“He has since abstained from both drugs. He is employed as a housing manager and is the primary carer for his father.”
Magistrates fined Jackman £500 and disqualified him from driving for a period of 17 months.
Court costs of £85 and a £200 victim surcharge was finally sought.
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