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A drug-driving scientist who was caught over the legal limit eight days after she smoked cannabis at a party has been banned from the roads for a year.
Newly qualified microbiologist Amira Shaid, 27, failed a roadside drugs test after being pulled over in a routine stop as she drove her Ford Fiesta through Warrington town centre in Cheshire.
During the arrest, a shocked Ms Shaid burst into tears as tests showed she had 2.5 micrograms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a litre of blood, the legal limit being 2mcg/l. THC is the principal psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
The 27-year-old later claimed she had no idea she would be over the limit and insisted the cannabis must have still been in her system from a party she attended more than a week earlier.
At Warrington Magistrates’ Court, Ms Shaid, who graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Zoology and Animal Biology at Liverpool John Moores University, was disqualified from driving for 12 months after she admitted drug-driving.
She now faces being sacked from a new job at a company which carries out routine drug testing amongst its staff.
Amira Shaid, 27, failed a roadside drugs test after being pulled over in a routine stop as she drove her Ford Fiesta through Warrington town centre in Cheshire
Newly qualified microbiologist Amira Shaid who has been banned from the roads
Ms Sarah McInerny, prosecuting, said that Ms Shaid, from Widnes, was stopped by PC Dicks on mobile police patrol on February 25 this year.
‘There was a strong smell of perfume in the car and it was suspected that may have been used to cover the smell of cannabis,’ Ms McInerny said. ‘The defendant did state that she had smoked cannabis in the last week.
‘She was asked to cooperate with a roadside DrugWipe which she complied with and which tested positive for cannabis. She was arrested and taken to the North Cheshire custody suite where she underwent a blood test.
‘It tested positive for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and the reading was 2.5 micrograms of per litre of blood. The legal limit is 2.’
The court heard Ms Shaid had been stopped on suspicion of drug driving on an earlier occasion but no action was taken against her.
In mitigation defence solicitor James Fisher said: ‘There is no evidence of dangerous or erratic driving. She was just pulled over.
‘There was no accident, nobody was hurt in any way. She knows that she is lucky in that regard. She was in tears at the roadside and at the station. For the most part she was calm and compliant and she provided a sample of blood without any issue as well.
‘As she said to the officers, quite frankly she did not expect to be over the limit. She had last consumed cannabis at a party on February 17. She was pulled over on February 25. She would not have in any way driven if she felt impaired. She would never have taken that risk.
Ms Shaid, 27, from Widnes who graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) degree in Zoology and Animal Biology at Liverpool John Moores University
Shaid was disqualified from driving for 12 months after she admitted drug driving
‘She is quite rigorously drug tested at work. She is a microbiologist and has recently started work for a new company which does routine drug testing. She has passed everything other than this situation.
‘It has taken her a long time to get into the role that she is in now, it has taken eight years.
‘She is a person of previous good character. She has explained it has taken a huge toll on her. She has lost about two stone in weight since the blood test.
‘It has been distressing. Her mental health has taken a significant downward toll. She is happy for this to be concluded today. She is not so much concerned about the driving ban, it is the criminal conviction.
‘She does not know the outcome, she may lose her job and her income. She lives at home and pays rent to her mother. Her takings are £1,900 per month.
The court heard Ms Shaid had been stopped on suspicion of drug driving on an earlier occasion but no action was taken against her
Ms Shaid was also fined £438 and ordered to pay £294 in costs and a victim surcharge
‘She is very, very remorseful. She tells me that she would never have taken the risk if she thought she was over the limit.
‘She does not ever want to be in this situation again. It’s a situation where she is looking to put this behind her and move on and hopefully keep her career if at all possible.
‘She has done a lot of work to get where she is, including a year as a veterinary technician in preparation for this role. She is just devastated that she is here before you today.’
Ms Shaid was also fined £438 and ordered to pay £294 in costs and a victim surcharge.
JP Ian Williams told her: ‘I appreciate that this has a sobering effect on anybody coming to court for the first time and clearly it is a concern for some about their career when they have worked so hard to get where they are.
‘But you have to accept that driving with drugs in your system is a serious offence and there is a mandatory ban. Good luck in your career.’
