Mornington Peninsula artist Adam Magennis banned for refusing to take roadside drug test
A famous artist, Indigenous advocate and archaeologist whose work adorns public sites across the Peninsula is regretting a decision to refuse a drug test after he was pulled over.
South East
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A prominent Peninsula painter, Indigenous advocate and archaeologist has been banned from driving for two years for refusing to take a roadside drug test.
Adam Magennis, who also worked for Mornington Peninsula Shire as an Indigenous cultural heritage adviser, would not give police an oral fluid sample after he had been pulled over for driving unlicensed.
The Mornington 47-year-old had been a cannabis smoker for 27 years and said he didn’t want to waste police officers’ time by taking a test because it would obviously have been positive.
Magennis pleaded guilty to unlicensed driving and refusing an oral fluid test at Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The court heard at 1pm on June 11 last year Somerville highway patrol officers were conducting an automatic number plate recognition operation on Mornington-Tyabb Rd in Mornington.
It flagged Magennis’ car as having an unlicensed driver, and when he was pulled up he was asked to take the mandatory tests.
He passed the alcohol breath test, but repeatedly refused to give a drug sample.
His licence has expired a month before and he had not renewed it.
The denial cost him big time, because if he had of proved positive the most he could have been banned for was six months instead of a mandatory two-year disqualification for a refusal.
In court his defence lawyer said he had smoked the drug to deal with anxiety issues for many years but stopped immediately after he was caught.
She said he refused the test because “he respected authorities” and didn’t want to waste their time.
His resume includes working as a professional artist for more than 25 years, with an array of murals and artworks at railway stations and public government sites exhibited across the region.
In court he stood up and said he regretted the drug-driving incident, but “two years is pretty intense”.
“I’m a good person,” he said.
“I understand the implications, it was bad driving behaviour.”
Magennis, who had no priors, said he had stopped driving and was using taxis to get around, and had also employed a contractor to assist him getting to places he needed to be.
Magistrate Vicky Prapas said he had made bad decisions that night.
“If you were able to turn back time I am sure you would want to,” Ms Prapas said.
“Drugs are not like alcohol that leave the system, you don’t know how long they (drugs) stay in your system.
“People who use drugs (and drive) are a risk to the community.”
She said his previous good driving record and contribution to the community meant he wouldn’t receive a conviction.
Magennis was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for two years.
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