Caught Passive Drug Driving!

Question:

I don’t smoke cannabis but my friends do. I’ve tested positive for cannabis in my blood whilst driving despite never actively smoking a joint. Can I avoid a ban?

Emma Says:

If the blood sample is reliable then technically you are guilty of drug driving. However the magistrates have a power to find special reasons not to disqualify you if they were to feel that you had inadvertently ‘consumed’ cannabis unwittingly, for example via passive smoking.

This area of law is very new and developing rapidly. We are exploring these issues with our clients and a number have raised similar arguments. To date we have had a partial success in relation to one of these cases where the magistrates did agree to reduce the minimum ban because they found special reasons due to passive smoking.

There are no specific cases yet that have gone to the higher courts and therefore set a precedent.