Man loses driving license over passive pot

"The driver can still be accused of consciously consuming [drugs] even through passive smoking," the judge said.

Police had the man take a drugs test during a traffic stop, which showed that he had a high level of THC (the active ingredient in cannabis) in his blood.

Officers immediately confiscated his driver's license, although he protested that while he occasionally smoked, he had not done so before driving.

He claimed that he had been with his friends – all heavy smokers – the night before, and that he must have been caught out by the passive smoke.

Arguing that it wasn't his fault that he was stoned, he asked for his driver's license back.

While the administrative court found that he must have been smoking himself given the level of THC in his blood, he would not have been safe from the law even if he hadn't.

He must have known that he wouldn't be safe to drive following such a long time immersed in pot smoke, the judges said.

Given that he clearly didn't leave enough time between smoking – even if not personally partaking – and driving, the judges decided that he was a danger on the road and that it had been right to take his license away.

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