Cannabis driver banned for 36 months after being stopped with more than twice the limit in his system

Shamsu Miah, of Collier Hill, in Oldham, appeared at Telford Magistrates Court on Wednesday when he said he could not afford to provide a technical report that he said would prove that he had been passive smoking the drug from his passengers.

He had been stopped as the driver of his 2009 grey Ford Focus on the A5 between Shrewsbury and Oswestry on May 16, 2021.

Miah was found to have not less than 5.6 micrograms of Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in his blood, which is above the legal limit of 2.

Representing himself, Miah asked the justices if there was any chance they could reduce the amount of the ban, which was imposed because of his history of similar offences.

He was told that the ban was automatic and there was no opportunity for it to be reduced as there are no drug driver courses that he could attend to reduce the ban. He thanked the court for taking into account his guilty plea.

Presiding justice Ashley Clayton said the court would ban Miah from driving for 36 months and fine him £80. But they imposed no court costs and no victim surcharge.