Young grandmother, 34, is banned from driving after being caught high on cannabis on the school run
Samantha Eaton, from the Bebington area of the Wirral, Merseyside, was stopped at the wheel of her Citroen Xsara when a routine police check revealed that she was one-and-a-half times over the legal limit of the Class B drug.
Tests revealed that Eaton, a former carer and mother-of-two, had 2.7mg of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive component of cannabis which is responsible for the high - per litre of her blood.
Her father then paid for a private blood test to contest the reading but this also came back to show that the then-33-year-old was over the limit of 2mg.
Further inquiries by officers also found that Eaton had previous convictions for drink-driving, which saw her banned for 19 months in 2020, as well as possession of Class A drugs, being drunk and disorderly, and an offence related to car insurance.
At Sefton Magistrates' Court, she pleaded guilty to drug-driving and was fined £160, with £264 in costs and surcharge, as well as the three-year ban on the roads.
Prosecutor Lynne Sayers said: 'On September 12 the defendant was on the way to pick her children up when she pulled over a routine stop. She co-operated with the officer and provide a positive reading for a drug saliva test.
'She was taken to custody where she provided a blood sample and which was over the limit. There are no aggravating features in this case. There were no passengers and no accidents.'
Eaton had previously been hounded from her home in 2023 following a petrol bomb attack carried out by gangsters locked in a dispute with the jailbird father of her two children.
Representing herself, Eaton said: 'I have got two children and I have had to move out of the area for our own safety. I was petrol bombed and it was associated with who my ex-partner had trouble with.
'I left him seven years ago but my family home was petrol bombed and I had to move out of the area. It was night and I was in the bedroom. They literally petrol bombed the front door. It was horrendous and traumatic.'
Explaining why she was using cannabis, Eaton said she had initially tried to use sleeping tablets after being kept awake at night but had suffered a bad experience so did not want to try them again.
She added: 'I am a single parent and that is why I thought cannabis once per night would help me to sleep. I was picking up my daughter on that day. She attends a special needs school. I would never dream of picking the kids up if I knew I was over the limit. I had one the night before.'
Eaton said she did not know that she would be over the limit and has since gone back to her doctors to be prescribed alternative medication.
She continued: 'I know I have had a bad past but then I split with the kids' father. I was trying to find my way. I know I am going to get a ban but it is really going to impact my life. We are 30 minutes drive from anywhere we know. Where we are we do not know anybody.
'My dad knows the situation, that is why he offered to pay to questions the blood test. It came back "over". It was "just over". We thought I might possibly be over but my dad's words were "No harm in trying".
'I think I am going to go back into care work. I was a carer in the community but I have really had it tough. I tried to do everything right by the kids and by myself.
'I have a granddaughter who is one in a few weeks. They live in Rock Ferry. We are far away from everybody.'
Sentencing, Judge Timothy Boswell told her: 'Cannabis is an illegal drug and can cause a lot of damage to your physical and mental health. It can land you in a criminal court with a conviction like this.
'It can also impair your judgement and actions which endanger you and other road users. With this case, it was a routine stop. There was no suggestion that your driving was bad.
'When police spoke to you the reason they asked for a sample was because you had a previous conviction for drugs. There is no suggestion there were any signs of impairment.
'Nevertheless, it is an illegal drug. And if you take it that is the risk you run. I take into account you have been through an extremely traumatic incident shortly before that and have been suffering from panic attacks.
'But I am sure you now realise that illegal drugs are not the answer to that.'
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