Ban for Mansfield driver who took cannabis to cope with accident trauma

Arron Winson was stopped by police as he drove a Peugeot on Mansfield Road, Clipstone, at 5.50pm on August 28, last year, said prosecutor Katherine Wilson.

He displayed signs of drug use and a blood test revealed the levels of cannabis and cocaine in his system were slightly above the specified limits.

Magistrates heard he was last before the courts in 2018 when he was convicted of being drunk and disorderly.

Lesley Pidcock, mitigating, said he deserved credit for his early guilty plea.

She said Winson is a "long-term cannabis user" who used the class B drug to cope with the post-traumatic stress disorder he sustained in a road accident as a child.

She said he also suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning difficulties, along with other mental health issues.

Ms Pidcock said Winson claims that he was spiked as he doesn't use cocaine.

The court heard the father-of-one is a learner driver and already has 12 points on his licence, but has so far escaped a ban.

Winson, 30, of Bond Close, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted drug driving when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He was fined £120, with £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge. He was banned from driving for 12 months.

Because he was convicted of driving under the influence of drusg he wasn’t offered the rehabilitation course availble to drink drivers.

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