Batehaven man Troy Mackay caught driving with meth in his system
A Batehaven man was caught driving with methamphetamine in his system, after he started taking the drug for pain relief.
The South Coast News
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A man who medicated himself with methamphetamine after being unable to pick up a prescription was caught driving with the drug in his system.
Troy Mackay, 47, from Batehaven, pleaded guilty in Batemans Bay Local Court on Monday to driving with drugs in his body.
Mackay already faced court in late 2022 for possessing the drugs, where he was fined $3000.
Representing himself, Mackay told Magistrate Doug Dick he medicated himself with methamphetamine to deal with pain from an illness he was facing.
Police documents presented to Magistrate Dick stated Mackay would take the illicit drug “twice a month”.
“You would use the drug every now and then I see,” he said.
The court heard Mackay took the drugs on October 28, 2022 for pain relief. It wasn’t until two days later when Mackay was pulled over while driving that police found the drug in his system following a positive drug test.
Mackay was told not to drive for 24 hours to allow the drugs to leave his system and was issued a court attendance notice.
“It had been a few days, so I didn’t think I’d still be high,” Mackay told the court.
Magistrate Dick said it didn’t matter if the drug was used for pain relief.
“An illicit drug is an illicit drug,” he said.
Mackay explained to the court he medicated himself with methamphetamine after he was unable to get to Sydney for a prescription because of a Covid-19 lockdown.
“I had a prescription for another drug, but I couldn’t get there and the pain was so bad, I had to do something,” he said.
Despite this, Magistrate Dick made it clear there was no justification for using illicit drugs.
Mackay was fined $800 and had his licence disqualified for six months.
“You won’t be able to get a licence until July 23rd,” Magistrate Dick said.
Needing to drive for work, Mackay asked the Magistrate if there was any way to apply for a “work licence”.
“I need a licence for work, so is there some kind of work licence I can apply for?” he asked.
“There’s no such thing,” Magistrate Dick replied.
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