Greenock drug driver 'used cannabis for medical conditions'

Ainsley Gray was sentenced for the road traffic and drug offences this week, after pleading guilty to two charges.

The 29-year-old admitted to being behind the wheel of a vehicle when the proportion of THC - the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis - was 4.6mcg per litre of blood; the legal limit is 2mcg/litre.

Provisional licence holder Gray also accepted that she drove on Belville Street without displaying L plates on the car in November 2022.

Former co-accused Andrew McFarlane, 38, had a not guilty plea accepted by the Crown to an allegation that he caused or permitted Gray to use the vehicle without a valid insurance policy.

Gray was cleared of driving without insurance and possession of cannabis following a negotiated plea deal with prosecutors.

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Fiscal depute Pamela Brady told a hearing on Tuesday that police officers were on patrol in a marked car when their attention was drawn to a vehicle in the early hours of November 4, 2022.

After following the car and having concern regarding the way it was being driven, officers stopped it and conducted a roadside DrugWipe test which returned a positive result for cannabis.

Gray was arrested and taken to Greenock police office where further blood samples were taken.

Robert Mitchell, defending, said his client suffers from ADHD and anxiety and had been using cannabis because it helped with the symptoms of those conditions.

The lawyer told the court: "It was not prescribed to her and she was over the limit.

"She now takes other prescribed medication."

Sheriff Clair McLachlan said: "Given the circumstances set out and your lack of record I am required to disqualify you but I am persuaded to do that at the minimum level."

Gray, of Bawhirley Road, was given a 12-month road ban and fined £245, payable at a rate of £50 per month.