Rachel Sermon, 37, was driving a Nissan Qashqai on the A66 between Cockermouth and Workington on November 22 last year.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting at Workington Magistrates’ Court, said the vehicle was pulled over by police and a drugs wipe was positive for cocaine.
The legal limit for cocaine10µg/L This is a ‘zero tolerance’ legal limit, meaning even a small amount of cocaine can put you over the limit.
Ms Fee said there were passengers in the vehicle when it was stopped, including a young child.
Sermon was arrested and taken to the police station and a blood sample was taken.
This showed the defendant had 226mcg of cocaine per litre of blood. Some cannabis was also detected in her blood.
Sermon had been subject to a two-year suspended sentence order imposed by the crown court when the offence took place.
Mike Pope, defending, said: “It’s a guilty plea at the first opportunity. That’s on the back of full cooperation with police. There was no difficulty at all with her behaviour.
“It’s not a case of bad driving. The defendant suspects somebody has pointed the finger at her.
“The reason she was taking these substances was because of a break-up of a domestic relationship.”
Mr Pope said the suspended sentence order had been imposed for possession with intent but the level of involvement had been ‘very low’ and she hadn’t been a ‘big player’.
A probation officer said Sermon had engaged positively with the probation service throughout the suspended sentence order.
Sermon, of Wasdale Close, Whitehaven, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specified limit.
Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days and banned the defendant from driving for two years.
She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs.
https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/24275931.drug-driver-22-times-cocaine-limit-a66-spared-jail/
