A driver caught with five times the legal limit of cannabis in his system had started using the illegal drug in place of his prescription OxyContin medication after watching a Netflix show.
Kevan Coventry had been prescribed opiates following an injury to his hand.
But after watching a Netflix drama about the origins of the US opioid crisis and the increased use of OxyContin, he decided to seek alternative treatment.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Coventry was driving a van earlier this year when he was stopped in the town’s Valley Gardens.
Fiscal depute Eve McKaig said: “At around 1.30pm on March 16 officers were on uniformed mobile patrol and had occasion to stop the accused’s motor vehicle.
“The accused identified himself as the driver and officers could smell cannabis coming from him.”
She said the 38-year-old failed a roadside drugs test and blood tests were taken to verify the result.
OxyContin scare
Solicitor David Cranston, defending, said the trainee welder had been prescribed OxyContin but had been scared off its use after watching the show.
He said: “He had been smoking quite a lot of cannabis in the run-up to this.
“He had a nasty injury to his hand and had been prescribed OxyContin but after watching a documentary on Netflix he thought he would be better managing his pain in his own way.
“As we know it remains in the body for quite some time.
“He told me he genuinely thought he wasn’t under the influence of the drug after smoking the night before.”
Mr Cranston told the court Coventry’s employers at Babcock regularly test their staff and his client had no desire to lose his job.
He said he is no longer suffering from the injury and for both reasons, is no longer taking cannabis.
Mr Cranston added a driving ban would cause Coventry difficulty as he commuted to and from work.
‘Dangerous to rely on internet’
Coventry, of Kirkcaldy, pled guilty to driving with excess Delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol, the main psychoactive substance in cannabis (10mics/2).
Sheriff Neil Kinnear warned Coventry against taking non-medical advice.
He said: “This is unfortunate.
“You were taking cannabis – it’s always dangerous to rely on the internet for medical advice rather than medical doctors.“
He disqualified Coventry from driving for a total of 16 months and fined him £600.
Netflix drama
Netflix drama Painkiller stars Matthew Broderick as Purdue Pharma executive Richard Sackler, telling the story of painkiller OxyContin’s rise to prominence in the US.
The highly-addictive drug became notorious due to its side effects and was blamed for fuelling the opioid crisis in the country.
It is also used in the UK but only on prescription.
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