A “self-medicating” Dunfermline man was caught driving while under the influence of cannabis on the Queensferry Crossing.
Cameron Greig, 27, of Tweed Street, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to plead guilty to drug-driving on the M90 northbound on September 11 last year.
Prosecutor Lauren Pennycook told the court police carrying out static observations at around 4.40pm had cause to stop Greig’s Volkswagen.
When speaking with him there was a strong smell of cannabis and he failed a roadside drug test.
Defence lawyer James Stewart said Greig had been returning home from work at a car repair centre in East Calder.
He had previously engaged with a GP about pain medication after being involved in a car crash which left him with chronic knee pain and back pain from manual labour.
He reacted badly to medicated codeine and “effectively self-medicates and thinks cannabis provides much better pain relief than previous medication”.
The solicitor noted the cannabis (THC) reading (3mics/ 2) is relatively low from cannabis taken the night before and Greig did not feel its impact on his driving.
He was banned from driving for 12 months and fined £200.
Scout leader guilty
Perth Scout leader Stephen Gorton has been found guilty of bombarding teenage boys with sexual messages and selfies and is now on the sex offenders register. After a trial Gorton, was told by a sheriff his defence had been “quite frankly incredible, implausible and self-serving” and he was found guilty of four charges.
Swallow roundabout crash
A “very experienced” nurse was more than four times the drink-drive limit when she crashed her Vauxhall Crossland at 2.50am at Dundee’s Swallow roundabout
Emily Walker, 29, is now banned after she admitted driving with excess alcohol (98mics/ 22) after a night drinking with friends.
Walker, of Hebrides Drive, became tearful in the dock after Sheriff Clair McLachlan said it was “quite an inexplicable decision on your part – you are very lucky you did not do yourself and others injury.”
Solicitor Jim Caird said: “It’s a high reading and she fully accepts that.
“She is not normally someone who has huge experience of alcohol and is an occasional drinker.
“She’s a very experienced nurse.
“Unfortunately, she had a lot to drink during the day and evening with friends.
“She was emotionally distressed and made the foolish decision to take the car.”
Sheriff Clair McLachlan fined Walker £450 and disqualified her from driving for 12 months.
McDonald’s attacker
A sex pest McDonald’s employee has been sentenced to unpaid work after being convicted of preying on a trio of colleagues. One teenager told Perth Sheriff Court how she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Joshua McKeown, 28, of Rannoch Road in Perth, at a McDonald’s in the city.
‘Horrible’ junction
A pregnant woman was taken to hospital after a careless driver pulled out of a “horrible” Fife junction and collided with the car she was in.
Sarah Ferguson, 31, of Backmarch Road, Rosyth, pled guilty to driving carelessly by failing to keep a proper lookout and give way at the junction at White Lodge on the B9175 road near Aberdour on August 26 last year, colliding with another vehicle and injuring its driver and passenger.
Prosecutor Amy Robertson told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court a man was driving a BMW north on the B9175 from Dalgety Bay to Cowdenbeath and as he reached the junction he saw Ferguson’s Nissan Navara pull into his path, causing the collision.
Police were contacted via Apple crash detection on a mobile phone belonging to one of the drivers.
The fiscal said a 19 weeks pregnant female front seat passenger in the BMW reported being in pain and was taken to Victoria Hospital for assessment.
She had a suspected ankle fracture and some bumps and bruises but did not require further medical attention, other than a protective cast for her ankle.
There were no issues with her pregnancy, the fiscal said.
Ferguson escaped uninjured. Both vehicles were written off.
Defence lawyer David Cranston said the collision happened at a “horrible junction” at which Ferguson had believed it was clear to pull out.
He said: “She is certain she would have checked but accepts she must have pulled out at a time it was unsafe to do so”.
He said: “She recognises the consequences of this lapse were significant. It does appear to be no more than a momentary lapse.”
Sheriff Mark Allan stressed in sentencing he had to focus on the manner of driving rather than the outcome and gave Ferguson six penalty points and a £400 fine.
Cash grab
A lottery winner from Dundee who blew his fortune and turned to drug-dealing made more than £158,000 from his life of crime. Jack Tanbini, 29, was handed a five-year, five-month sentence in January 2025 and a proceeds of crime action has resulted in him being ordered to hand over more than £20,000 he has available.
Thanks for stopping drink-drive
Two quick-thinking security guards stopped a man from drunkenly driving out of a St Andrews car park.
Hamish Kidd thanked the two men for stopping his Fiat Panda where he was later found to be more than four times the legal limit (90mics/ 22).
Dundee Sheriff Court heard how the 43-year-old turned to alcohol after facing redundancy and was seen “stumbling” from a venue towards his car, parked on St Mary’s Place in the early hours of February 12.
Fiscal depute Lana Muir said: “The accused travelled roughly 10 metres out of the space when both witnesses approached and prevented him from driving further.
“The accused stopped and the witnesses spoke to him and the keys were removed from the ignition.”
Kidd, who lives rurally near Blebocraigs, pled guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
Solicitor Alexandra Short said her client was eventually made redundant from his part-time job as a project worker with a mental health organisation, which he juggled with caring for his mother.
Ms Short said: “He is very grateful to the people that actually stopped him.”
He was fined £420 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
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