An offshore construction boss has been banned from driving for three years after he got behind the wheel of his car 16 times the legal limit for drugs.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard that Andrew Macbeth, 39, was pulled over by police last year after he decided to take cocaine the night before.
They recorded a reading of 129mg of cocaine per litre of his blood and 800mg of benzoylecgonine, a chemical compound that is produced when cocaine is metabolised in the body. The limit is 10 and 50, respectively.
Recreational drug use
Fiscal depute Shay Treanor said officers stopped Macbeth’s Land Rover Defender on East Road in Elgin on February 11.
Iain Maltman said Macbeth, who works as a construction manager offshore, had been using the drugs the night before but had not touched them since his arrest.
“He is extremely worried about a period of imprisonment,” he said.
“At the time of the offence, he was using cocaine recreationally and habitually.
“He has not taken the drug since, realising he is too old to be behaving this way.”
‘I’m very sorry’
Sheriff David Harvie told Macbeth he was right to be concerned about a custodial sentence, but he stopped short of that due to the “relatively positive” background report from social workers.
Instead, he handed him a three-year road ban and ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
“This is an alternative to custody,” Sheriff Harvie said.
Macbeth, whose address was given as Glebe Street in Kinloss, will also fall under the supervision of the social work department for one year.
From the dock, he thanked the court and said: “I’m very sorry.”