Gran, 34, caught behind the wheel while high on cannabis as she drove to pick her daughter up from school
A YOUNG gran was caught behind the wheel while high on cannabis as she drove to pick her daughter up from school.
Samantha Eaton, 34, was stopped during a routine police check in the Bebington area of the Wirral, Merseyside.
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Samantha Eaton was caught on the school run high on cannabis
Credit: Cavendish
Cops found she was almost one-and-a-half times the limit for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive component of cannabis.
Her dad later paid for a private blood test to contest the reading but this also showed she was over the limit.
Eaton pleaded guilty to drug driving but avoided jail and was instead banned from getting behind the wheel for three years.
The mum-of-two was caught drink-driving in 2020 and also has previous convictions for possession of a Class A drug, being drunk and disorderly, and a car insurance offence.
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Sefton Magistrates Court heard she was picking her daughter up from school last September when she was caught by police.
A blood test showed she had 2.7mg of THC per litre of blood, with the legal limit being 2mg.
Prosecutor Lynne Sayers confirmed there were no passengers in the car at the time.
The court heard Eaton had been forced to leave her home in 2023 following a petrol bomb attack by gangsters warring with her jailbird ex.
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Representing herself, she 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."
The mum said she had started using cannabis to help her sleep at night and did not realise she would be over the limit.
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Eaton claimed she has since been prescribed alternative medication and has stopped using the drug.
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."
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As well as a driving ban, Eaton was also fined £160, with £264 in costs and surcharge.
Sentencing Judge Timothy Boswell said: "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.
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"Nevertheless, it is an illegal drug. And if you take it that is the risk you run."
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Eaton was found to be one-and-a-half times the legal limit
Credit: Cavendish
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The mum was picking her daughter up at the time
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She was handed a driving ban at Sefton Magistrates' Court
Credit: Cavendish
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