Independent politician pleads guilty to drug driving
An independent politician who has "smoked for quite a long time" has pleaded guilty to drug driving after failing a roadside test on a fishing trip.
Craig Garland was elected to Tasmania's parliament in March 2024 and has held a crucial balance-of-power position on the crossbench.
He is campaigning for re-election at the July 19 snap election, which was triggered after a no-confidence motion passed against the state's minority Liberal premier.
The 60-year-old appeared in Burnie Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with driving a motor vehicle while a prescribed illicit drug was present in his oral fluid.
It related to a positive test in early November in the state's northwest.
Garland pleaded guilty and will next face court for sentencing on September 15.
He previously told AAP he returned a positive result from a tongue-scrape test on his way to go fishing after smoking cannabis the night prior.
He said he used cannabis on-and-off for pain relief, particularly for the ongoing effects of a broken leg, but didn't have a medical prescription.
"I've smoked for quite a long time. I didn't leave it long enough before I drove but I didn't think it would be a problem," he said in November.
"I'm not driving around whacked up or pissed (drunk). I guess you put it down to bad timing and bad management.
"I don't consider it impairing at all. It might be if you sit there and have 40 cones and whack a few beers in, but not if you're having a little one ... every now and then."
Garland, a former commercial fisherman who has voiced opposition to industrial salmon farming, has campaigned on a shoe-string budget.
He previously said the charge was unlikely to be a big issue for his supporters.
Garland, who supported the no-confidence motion against the premier, could again hold a powerful crossbench position after the July 19 election.
Opinion polling suggests the Liberals and Labor face an uphill battle to win enough seats to form majority government.
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