THREE drivers have been warned about how long it takes for drugs to leave their systems after they were fined and given disqualification periods for driving with illicit drugs in their systems.
Michael James Crook was fined $500 and disqualified for two years, Riccardo Ricky Manciagli received a $600 fine and will not be able to drive for six months, while Tony Frank Johnson was fined $600 and disqualified for three months in separate incidents.
Magistrate Terry Lucas warned each of them offending again would lift the penalty to a year’s disqualification.
“It’s surprising how many people have been caught for this,” he said.
“Eventually anyone who takes any form of illegal drugs is going to come undone.”
Manciagli’s solicitor John Carpenter acknowledged his client’s record was “atrocious”, but argued against a 12-month disqualification because one of Manciagli’s co-workers had lost his licence and he had taken up much of the slack for his employer.
“You might consider reducing the statutory suspension to a lower period so he has the opportunity to make arrangements with his employer to maintain that [work],” he said.
Mr Carpenter said his client had used cannabis occasionally as a form of relaxation after he gave up alcohol when it led to a previous conviction.
“He now knows it can remain in the bloodstream for three weeks and much longer,” he told the court.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Beau Riley argued against quashing Crook’s habitual offender’s declaration, saying he should make a later application once he could prove he could abide by the traffic rules, however Mr Lucas decided to quash it.
