Tasmanian independent MP Craig Garland has been disqualified from driving for six months and fined $820 after pleading guilty to drug driving.
The Braddon MP appeared in the Burnie Magistrates Court on Monday where he also received four demerit points for driving with cannabis in his system.
Garland, 60, was intercepted by police on Smith Street in Smithton on November 2 last year.
An oral fluid test detected traces of cannabis.
The court heard Garland had been prescribed medical cannabis in June to manage chronic pain from sciatica and a shoulder reconstruction that required surgical pins.
His lawyer told the court – as reported by ACM – that Garland preferred to avoid pharmaceutical painkillers but accepted responsibility for his actions.
“He recognises he should not have been driving,” the lawyer told the court.
Magistrate Leanne Topfer noted Garland had an extensive driving history, including lower-level offences and a 1996 drink-driving conviction, which made him a repeat offender under the law.
Despite the nearly three-decade gap between offences, the earlier alcohol-related matter meant harsher penalties applied.
Garland was granted a restricted licence allowing him to travel between his home and Parliament House in Hobart, but only within 24 hours either side of parliamentary sittings.
Magistrate Topfer warned the conditions were strict. She said Garland must take the most direct route and cannot deviate from approved travel times.
She said he would be driving while disqualified if he drove outside the permitted hours.
Garland will rely on his partner and staff to drive him to his Wynyard electorate office and around the community during his ban.
