A former pub boss had his drinks licence revoked after police said they raided his bar and found drugs, an axe and a knife.
Stewart McTaggart told Dundee’s licensing board he no longer worked as manager of Alyth’s Burnside Inn, located on Mill Street, and insisted the small amount of cannabis that had been seized by police was for pain relief.
He said the axe was for chopping firewood, rather than being a weapon, and that the knife was cutlery.
Police Scotland reported that 1.5 grams of herbal cannabis, valued at £15, was recovered during a raid on the pub in October.
Members of the board voted four to two to revoke Mr McTaggart’s personal licence.
Mr McTaggart, who lives in Dundee, said he agreed with the decision and most of the police report, but told councillors: “I suffer from seizures every day and have been to hospital, but I wasn’t given anything that helped.
“Since I smoked it (herbal cannabis) the chronic pain has gone away.”
Mr McTaggart also faced allegations from the police that he was drug dealing, lending money and allowing drugs to be taken in the toilets of the pub after an empty bag of white powder was discovered.
He said: “The axe and knife was exaggerated in the statement. The axe was for firewood as we had an open fire.
“If there was an empty bag of a white substance, well if it was empty how do they know it had white powder?
“I was lending money to friends, but not within the premises.
“I lived above the premises so it was very hard to separate.”
