Car crash victim turns to testosterone, drugs for relief

Ten years after his neck and back were broken in a car crash, a Summerholm man is still seeking pain relief.

TEN years after a fatal car accident, a Summerholm man can still feel the impact of the crash linger in his bones.

When police searched Darren Jason Andrews' home earlier this year, they discovered he had been using illegal substances to treat his pain.

Gatton Magistrates Court heard police arrived on March 5, armed with a search warrant.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Alister Windsor said police found a vial of testosterone in a fridge.

"(It was) a small glass bottle containing 10 millilitres of testosterone," Sgt Windsor said.

"The defendant stated it was his and he had bought it with the intention of body building."

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The court heard Andrews didn't have a prescription for it and told police he hadn't known it was illegal to possess the testosterone.

"Police searched his bedroom and found an amount of green leafy material," Sgt Windsor said.

"The defendant freely admitted it was cannabis for his personal use - it was less than a gram."

Police also found a plastic grinder in Andrews' bedroom.

"He freely admitted it had been used in the grinding up of cannabis for the purpose of smoking," Sgt Windsor said.

Duty lawyer James Ryan described to the court how Andrews had been involved in a "head-on collision", in which the other driver had been killed.

"He suffered a broken back and neck - I have sighted a medical report," Mr Ryan said.

"The other vehicle was at fault and the other driver was deceased."

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He told Magistrate Kay Ryan how Andrews had been self-medicating for pain but had since been approved for medicinal cannabis.

"I've also sighted this paperwork," he said.

The court heard Andrews had also bought the testosterone to address pain.

"Because of the chronic pain, there is some logic that if you can build up muscle mass, it does relieve some of the pain," Mr Ryan said.

"Through his GP, he's been legally medicated now."

Ms Ryan told Andrews she understood it was because of the crash he had turned to drugs.

"Of course it's good you've been able to get medicated properly, really good," Ms Ryan said.

She fined him $650 and recorded a conviction.

Read more stories by Ebony Graveur.

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