Californian caught drug-driving after camping trip tells Proserpine magistrate he ‘didn’t think it would be an issue’

A Whitsunday marina worker facing a drug-driving charge told a court he ‘enjoyed’ using marijuana, while a Californian man thought a weekend smoke would be out of his system by Monday. Here’s what the magistrate decided.

Two Whitsunday men have lost their licences for getting behind the wheel after smoking marijuana. Picture: File

Marijuana was the drug of choice for two Whitsunday men facing charges at Proserpine Magistrates Court this week.

One told a magistrate he “enjoys it before bed” and another saying he had used it on a weekend camping trip and “didn’t think it would be an issue”.

Coral Sea Marina groundsman Tom Angus Lemke and Daydream Island worker Matthew William Wyman both pleaded guilty to driving while a relevant drug is present in blood or saliva, receiving fines and licence disqualifications as a result.

The court heard Lemke, who had an interlock device fitted to his car at the time of his offence, told police he “smokes a single joint of marijuana about twice a week to help him sleep”.

He told the court on Monday he “enjoys (marijuana) before bed”, but added he was “remorseful” about the June 7 drug-driving charge, which came on top of a previous drink-driving conviction.

Wyman, a United States citizen applying for permanent residency in Australia, told police administering his drug test on Shute Harbour Rd on June 7 he had smoked a joint 46 hours earlier.

“It was the weekend, it was like while I was camping, I didn’t really think it would be an issue”, the Californian told the court on Monday.

Magistrate Athol Kennedy fined Lemke $500, disqualified his licence for three months, and recorded a conviction.

Wyman was sentenced to a one-month licence disqualification and a $300 fine, with a conviction recorded.