Man Admits Driving While Impaired By Cannabis

December 4, 2013

In Magistrates Court today [Dec 4], 20 year old Michael Byron pleaded guilty driving while impaired by cannabis and was fined $1500 and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Crown Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney told Senior Magistrate Archie Warner that around 1:00am on 14th July 2013, Police attended a motorcycle accident on Palmetto Road in Devonshire.  Byron, identified as the rider of the cycle, was taken to KEMH for treatment.

Attending Police observed that Byron seemed to be impaired and a doctor tested samples of Byron’s blood and found cannabis present in sufficient quality to cause impairment.

Senior Magistrate Archie Warner gave Mr Byron a $1500 fine and 12 month driving disqualification.

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  1. SERZ TALK says:

    Ya boy probably decked out doin 20kph

  2. blindbutcansee says:

    Wait! !!! What quantity exactly is it that causes impairment. Sounds like trumped up charges. Shlda got a lawyer to represent you.

    • Zeus says:

      No no read again, apparently Bermuda has some high grade in right now it states it was of “sufficient ‘quality’ to cause impairment”. !

  3. Loquatz says:

    I think this is a first, no?
    This actually is a big step towards the legal normalisation of marijuana.

  4. u ank sers says:

    I remember my first spliff hahaha…

  5. Sisu says:

    But I thought weed never hurt anybody?

  6. Terry says:

    Lucky regardless of what impaired him that he did not end up in the morgue.

  7. Rockfish#1and#2 says:

    The weed did not hurt him, the road rash did……lol

  8. Really??? says:

    when is bermuda going to wake up!!!!!! if the so called smart politicians had any common sense at all, they would hurry up and decriminalize weed!! The so called smart people who aren’t smart at all need to wake up!!!!!!!!!! Everybody is looking for solutions to get tourism up and running, which is at a all time low! Gambling is one which is a disaster waiting to happen as the only people going to this casino will be the bermudians, Loosing their money while mr. swan will be laughing to he bank, while also building more bigger buildings. I will tell you now. If Bermuda was to decriminalize weed, tourism would jump up by 200% in 2 years!!! You will get ordinary people coming bermuda to sit on the beach, rolling a nice spiff while watching the waves crash on the sand. You will get the old, young, black, white, couples young and old, lawyers, doctors, teachers and many many more flocking to our shores to see the beauty and smoke some Bermuda homegrown sensimiliar! Wake up and smell the roses!!! You can brig in all the consultants and pay them all the money in the world to brainstorm and put forward the brain dead ideas all you want, but until you listen to what I’m saying you so called politicians! Tourism will never get to the heights that you all are craving! WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES!!!! And the said part is, I gave you this information for free!!!! DUMMIES LMAO

  9. Steven says:

    Does he get to keep his travelling papers?

    • Time Shall Tell says:

      That is what I was wondering since it wasn’t mentioned in the article.

  10. Kim Smith says:

    “Attending Police observed that Byron seemed to be impaired and a doctor tested samples of Byron’s blood and found cannabis present in sufficient quality to cause impairment.”

    It would be good to know what that quantity is considered to be (not quality!)

    I always thought that the only real damage done by marijuana is the significant diminishment of the smoker’s motivation.

  11. Double Standards says:

    Bernews,

    Is this a first for Bermuda?

    Did they find weed on Mr. Byron or did they arrest him based on a breathalyzer test?

    • Bernews says:

      We don’t know about the complete history….all we can say we’ve been around a few years, and have never reported on anyone being charged with driving under the influence of cannabis before.

      There was no mention of any cannabis being found, just it showing up in the medical test.

  12. Babydoll says:

    You all laugh, but it isn’t funny! This incidence paints a different picture of the affects of smoking marijuana. As many times, as I try to explain to others that once you set fire to herb it is no longer harmless. You are not supposed to put anything into your lungs besides air, be it cigarettes or otherwise, but people are going to do whatever they like. It’s their bodies after all. But has anyone taken into consideration persons like myself who are deathly allergic to marijuana, who at the least whiff, goes into an asthmatic state. I can’t imagine how much my life would change if it became legal to smoke on our local beaches. I agree with changing the law so that small amounts are no longer illegal, but not to smoke in public places. I would like to enjoy life too!

    • CHRONIC=PAIN......less says:

      Your comments are very misleading!! Its not the marijuana smoke you are illergic too, its SMOKE in general!! You have a problem with marijuana being smoked on beaches but you don’t mention cigarettes being smoked on the beaches! I would almost guarantee the reason why you have asthma or go into asthmatic states is because you have been exposed heavily to second hand smoke and Im pretty sure it wasn’t marijuana!! I am a cancer patient and marijuana used in many ways is a lifesaver for me,especially smoking it!!!! I bet you are a supporter/consumer of alcohol,and its nothing wrong with it if that’s what you consume BUT DONT single out marijuana! I can sit here and spew out all the bad things about alcohol! How many drownings have been caused by acohol consumption? How many accidents and road fatalities have been caused by alcohol? The list goes on! When marijuana becomes legal you should be able to consume it anywhere you are able to drink alcohol and or smoke cigarettes legally! MAN put the taboo on marijuana NOT GOD!!! Legalize marijuana,as a cancer patient,I WOULD LIKE TO ENJOY LIFE TOO!!

      • JustAskin2 says:

        I think marijuana is as dangerous than cigarettes, maybe more so. The only ones advocating it are the ones who use it. The rest of us will have to deal with the consequences.

        • sage says:

          How could herb ever be as dangerous as cancer sticks ? It is said that 6 million people die annually from cigarettes while ganja hasn’t killed anyone , so where is the danger ? Clearly your thinking is impaired , ganjaphobia’s my guess . Plenty non users advocate legalizing it just check out Law Enforcement Against Prohibition .

        • Come Correct says:

          What factual information makes you believe marijuana is just as dangerous as something with thousands of chemical additives? This should be interesting but im guessing you just form opinions for the sake of having one without actually looking into it. I will admit when I started to use marijuana I had almost no idea what I was putting into my body,as I got older I wanted to know so I did a crap load of research. What helped me quit smoking cigarettes was looking forward to my spliff at the end of the day, what is one unaltered spliff to 20 chemically altered and man manufactured cigarettes? Lets be real here.

        • hahaa! says:

          “i think marijuana is as dangerous THAN cigarettes”
          that grammar is dangerous

      • Babydoll says:

        @ Chronic Pain. I’m sorry you have cancer, but just like you need pain relief, I need to be able to breath, even more so. My comments are not misleading. Who are you to tell me what I am allergic to. I am the one with the allergy, not you. I can be around cigarette smoke, even though I don’t like it. I stated before, you are not supposed to put anything in your lungs besides air! Please reframe your assumptions to another matter. I am talking from first hand experience. If you wish to smoke whatever, it is your own business; however, I would prefer marijuana smoking be done in the privacy of ones own home and not subject me to it. I thought we were talking about marijuana being smoked in public places, not if I condone it, cigarettes or alchol for that matter. I am mature enough to respect that there are persons who feel there is a need for its medical use. Just like I respect the medical use of marijuana, I had hoped that there would be persons mature enough that would respect my need not to be around it, but I guess I am wrong.

        • sage says:

          You are full of s#!t !

        • Chronic Pain says:

          Illegal I say yes I will respect your need not to be around it BUT if legal you will just have to go find another location because you are not entitled to anything!!!Who are you? Have you been crowned queen of England because you certainly sounds like royalty.Try telling someone, who is indulging in anything that’s legal, to respect your need not to be around it and I guarantee they will give you a few choice words before telling you where you can go!!

          BTW please tell me the name of your doctor that can determine that its the marijuana smoke that you are allergic to and not cigarette as most people smoke marijuana MIXED with CIGARETTE!! The more I read your comment the more I think you are full of it.

  13. WHATEVER BERMUDA DO BETTER says:

    So now people are going to be fined for having cannabis in there system? This is just Ridiculous. Cannabis stays in your system for months. This young man should have gotten a lawyer. DO BETTER BERMUDA!

    • Sandy Bottom says:

      No. It’s not that he had cannabis in his system. It’s that he was driving under the influence of a drug. It’s just as dangerous as driving drunk.

      • Mindyobiz says:

        You can’t even compare liquor to marijuana. Go smoke 10 spliffs and then go take 10 shots. Then tell me what’s more dangerous. Cause after 10 shots you probably won’t even be able to tell me

        • Sandy Bottom says:

          If you drive stoned that’s as dangerous as alcohol. It’s illegal. Get used to it.

          • sage says:

            Research disputes that claim , and what , pray tell , is the legal limit for herb in your system ? Let me guess , zero tolerance right ? Typical alcoholic bias.

            • Sandy Bottom says:

              Driving under the influence of drink or drugs is illegal. Deal with it.

          • Let's get real says:

            True and untrue. It entirely depends on the person and their tolerance. First time smoker SHOULD NOT drive. Someone who has smoked for years will be okay. But that’s because they are fried and there really is no difference between stoned/sober for them.

        • sukram says:

          LOL, That’s funny because we all know that one or two joints is the limit and then we “mello”.Alcohol knows no limit! Even after you know you have had enough,you still have” another” or “one for the road” is another term used. The bottom line is the controllers of the alcohol companies don’t want marijuana to be legalized because sales will drop,simple! More access to marijuana, less indulging of “grandpas old cough medicine”. When its less marijuana on the island alcohol sales are at its highest and that’s a fact!! There are very little benefits from alcohol consumption but MANY dangers and marijuana has MANY benefits and very LITTLE harming affects but yet there are a lot of people in support of alcohol but fight against the Herb….and they say marijuana makes you go crazy…..funny!!!

  14. u ank sers says:

    shoulda gotten a lawyer bra…coulda have smoked weeks/months n still show up lmao. dummy

  15. Mindyobiz says:

    THE DUMBEST SH*T I’ve ever read on here! LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. ITS THE HEALING OF THE NATION! IT DONT DO HARM TO NONE OF US. AND FOR THOSE WHO THINK SO GO DO YOUR RESEARCH. I HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER WHO HAS SURVIVED CANCER AND STILL BURNS UP TO THIS DAY!

  16. Grand Wizzard says:

    BRITISH GOVERNMENT STUDIES PROVED TIME AFTER TIME – AS WELL AS OTHER GLOBAL STUDIES – THAT CANNABIS DOES NOT IMPAIR DRIVING WHATSOEVER. IN FACT IT WAS PROVEN THAT THOSE “UNDER THE INFLUENCE” DROVE MUCH SAFER THAN SOBER DRIVERS, HAD LESS STRESS, DROVE AT A SAFER SPEED, TOOK CORNERS SAFER, AND MUCH MORE.

    THE FACT THAT WE ARE A BRITISH COLONY JUST PROVES INSULT TO INJURY HERE. WHAT DO WE LIVE IN THE STONE AGE STILL?

    CANNABIS IS THE ONLY THING ON EARTH THAT NATURALLY KILLS CANCER.
    THE CURE FOR CANCER WAS KNOWN 40 YEARS AGO AND WAS SUPPRESSED BY THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY.

    ALL THE MILLIONS WHO DIED IN THE LAST 40 YEARS FROM CANCER DIDN’T NEED TO. THE GOVERNMENT JUST NEEDED TO LEGALIZE THE CANCER-KILLING CANNABIS PLANT.

    WHAT KIND OF WORLD DO WE LIVE IN, WHEN THE CURE FOR CANCER IS ILLEGAL – DESPITE THE FACT IT IS NATURAL, EVOLVED ALONGSIDE HUMANS FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS, AND ITS ACTIVE CHEMICAL – THC – HAS ACTUAL RECEPTORS FOR IT IN OUR BRAINS. HUMAN BEINGS EVOLVED ALONGSIDE AND USING CANNABIS FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS. OUR BRAINS ARE DESIGNED FOR IT, AND WE HAVE RECEPTORS FOR IT. WHAT MORE PROOF DO YOU NEED?

    CANNABIS CURES 200 DISEASES, AND IS CURRENTLY LEGALLY PRESCRIBED TO MILLIONS ON EARTH FOR MORE THAN 200 PURPOSES.

    IT IS ALSO THE ONLY PLANT IN THE ENTIRE WORLD THAT CONTAINS ALMOST EVERY SCENT CHEMICAL – MEANING YOU CAN TRULY HAVE BLUEBERRY OR GRAPE TASTING CANNABIS, BANANA, OR LEMON, OR PINE, ETC. THIS PLANT IS LITERALLY MADE TO BE ENJOYED.

    THE PLANT WAS LEGAL ON EVERY CONTINENT FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS, UNTIL THE EARLY 1900S WHEN GOVERNMENTS SOUGHT TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL AND SPREAD LIES AND PROPOGANDA ABOUT IT, SO THAT THEY COULD ROUND UP MINORITIES AND IMPRISON THEM. THIS HAS BEEN TESTIFIED TO BY AUTHORITIES FROM THAT TIME PERIOD.

    LEGALIZE IT!

    • Sandy Bottom says:

      That’s bollocks. Don’t drive stoned.

    • JustAskin2 says:

      I’m sure the poppy is also is also healthful in it’s natural state.

      I think it’s stupid to say that any drug is safe. Marijuana is like any of God’s good herbs. If you use it in its natural form, as in a tea for instance, it has many benefits. However if you corrupt it by smoking it becomes harmful to your health.

      And nothing is more annoying than seeing some guy zoned out on weed, with little control over his actions, talking trash and totally doing nothing with his life.

      • inna says:

        just like someone drunk on alcohol?

      • sage says:

        No , you know what really is inspiring ? Seeing some guy/girl completely s#!tfaced ,with absolutely no idea where they are or even who they are , talking trash (right up in your grill), fighting , vomiting , exposing themselves and then waking up with some weirdo not knowing how they got there just before reporting to work at some high paid job (yet still be classified as employable).

    • Hmmmm says:

      Wrong it was tested on a BBC show on BBC America… Lady smoked and tried to drive and redo tests…it was a mess

      • Come Correct says:

        Key word “lady”…..lol sorry that was wrong, I know, but the temptation was there.

      • sukram says:

        Lets not be misleading! This was tested on a lady smoking for the first time and driving!!! want to talk about a “mess” then lets talk about alcohol!!!

    • Toodle-oo says:

      Cannabis is the only thing on earth that kills cancer ????

      Really ?

      Then how come it’s not prescribed to cancer patients as soon as they’re diagnosed ? (and no conspiracy theories , please )

      Answer this one too .. Let’s say there’s a pair of identical twins living exactly the same life but one blazes a bag a day and the other doesn’t smoke anything. Which one would come under closer scrutiny from their doctor from cancer because of their lifestyle ?

      • Come Correct says:

        Yup he’s wrong, radiation kills cancer and ironically can give it to you.

        How can a pharmaceutical. Company make money off of something a toddler could grow and again ironically they’re the ones throwing the most money at lobbying against it :o .

        Unless you have identical twins that we could test this theory on the world will never know. Then you would also have to factor in diet, exercise, ect. to make it an accurate test and they would also have to eat sleep and breath together with the only difference being one uses…and a bag a day? geesh someone has deep pockets.

      • Its a Fact says:

        You are misinformed because I am a cancer patient and one of the best oncologist(specializes in cancer) in the world advised me on alternatives to man made medicines. Marijuana was the first she suggested!!Secondly your example you used with the doctor is misleading also! Do you honestly think that marijuana causes cancer??HaHaHaHaHa so why do hundreds of thousands of doctors support and advocate the use of marijuana medically?? Its just like prescribing cigarettes to a patient who has cancer from smoking cigarettes!! I hope you don’t honestly believe that it causes cancer, do you?? Brainwash is a serious illness!!
        Last let me rubbish your example! Overweight twins go to the doctor and the doctor weighs them and puts them on a diet.One twin sticks to the diet and walks for exercise and the other twin uses the same diet but works out 7 days a week.Three months later they go back to the doctor and the twin that only walks for exercise weighs 50 lbs less than his brother.Who do you think the doctor will praise more?? The twin that lost the most weight!! BUT in actual fact the twin that works out 7 days a week is actually healthier and worked harder and the reason for weighing more is because he has put on more muscle and has less body fat.Muscle outweighs fat! See how misleading that could be??

        • Sandy Bottom says:

          It’s total bollocks like ‘cannabis cures cancer’ and ‘people drive safer when under the influence of cannabis’ that just makes the pro-legalization people look stupid. Keep it up, it will never become legal with all the sheet you spout.

        • Toodle-oo says:

          Like many , many others you too seem to be confusing the use of cannabis to alleviate side effects of cancer treatment (which is well documented ) with cannabis in any way shape or form of curing cancer.

          So much for your rubbish.

          btw , I wish you well in your recovery/treatment .

          • Its a fact says:

            UMMM, who said anything about marijuana curing?? I didn’t!!! Btw check out the patients that used alternative medicines like hash oil that has CURED cancer in some people(which is well documented)

            Hey what about those migrane headaches you suffer with or depression or anxiety or whatever your illness ,have your meds cured them?? I bet you not!!!You Will be taking them the rest of your life and at the same time will be running back to the doctor for meds to counteract the side affects from the other meds!!Before you talk about marijuana please check your medicine cabinet and read the side affects on the label and then talk to me about harmful drugs!!!

  17. Duhh says:

    That charge is crazy. Who’s to say that the young man didn’t smoke the day before or last week as marijuana stays in the system well over 24 hours! — does this mean that the police can draw blood from anyone they stop and if they find any amount of marijuana in the blood they slap them with another charge of driving while impaired?! Can someone tell me what the legal limit for weed is?!?! Is that even a law?!?! — should have pleaded innocent and taken your chanes man and if you were found guilty APEAL.

  18. Come Correct says:

    This guy is a ham and clearly can’t ride or think logically. Like others are saying he should have got a lawyer, he has now just set a new standard. Thanks for making marijuana look even worse, like sober people don’t deck out or worse.

    On a side note what are the limits to doctor patient confidentiality? Does this doctor use or specialize in marijuana to know what enough to “impair driving” based on height, weight, tolerance and frequency of use? Did this guy smoke and forget to call a lawyer?

    • my view says:

      The latest research indicates that persons who use weed only now and then may be impaired some what ,but people who use it on a regular basis drive just fine indeed. This fact was on national TV by Sanja Kupta. Spelled wrong but close enough.

      People ,1500 people die every day from cancer . Weed may not have been able to cure them all but the evidence is there, it would have saved most of them. Just amagine this ,cannabis oil kills cancer cells.I wish not to go in great detail here but will leave you all with this . Go to You Tube and look up ” cannabis oil cures” ,you will be amazed who has done the research and the out comes.Our bodies are wired for cannabis and other substances as well. Finally I am not talking about smoking the stuff only mentioning the medical benefits of something God created .GO RESEARCH THE STUFF PEOPLE.

      • jt says:

        I call complete BS on your second paragraph. Show me the scientific studies that prove it. Utter nonsense.

        • Come Correct says:

          Didn’t they say look it up? I saw a study where cannabis oils were used to heal radiation burns from cancer treatment and left little to no scarring. Believe it or not cannabis has many good uses. Think about lives it could save…but the world is already overpopulated and to a pharmaceutical company your life means nothing and your bank account is everything. I’m not saying cannabis is a cure all but it has many, many medical benefits and more.

          • jt says:

            Curing radiation burns and curing cancer are completely different. Do not confuse the two.
            Cannabis does not cure cancer. I have looked it up and with good reason. It can provide pain relief to some victims, but it does not cure, or prevent cancer. I have absolutely no problem with the legalization of cannabis,it should be done, but spreading falsehoods about it’s ability to cure/prevent cancer as a means to argue for its legaliztion is a completely irresponsible lie.

            • Come Correct says:

              I never said it did, I said cannabis is not a cure all. At the same time it isn’t that easy to do scientific research since it is still prohibited, we still don’t know all there is to know.

            • Its a fact says:

              You are wrong!!! As a cancer patient I have been to support groups with about fifty patients and doctors sharing their amzing stories of using marijuana in different forms without using pharmacy prescribed meds and how the cancer has gone and in most of them never returned.My oncologist has been voted as the best oncologist in the united states and he is a big supporter. I will repeat what he said” Just because man hasn’t figured out the components certainly doesn’t mean that it does not cure” I don’t waste my time researching the internet because I found out quickly that not everything on the internet is the truth. I have also learned that a lot of information posted on marijuana is false as many people have hidden agenda.Sad but true, there are many doctors that would do anything possible to keep marijuana illegal as people are discovering that marijuana is less harmful than prescription but more effective.
              I don’t have to look up anything Im living proof!
              I have a cancer that radiation does nothing for! Nor is there any meds that the fda has approved to treat me.They are still in the making.
              I wonder what peoples reasons and theories were for aguing the point and benefits of legalising alcohol!
              Can someone tell me the benefits of alcohol and why its legal?? Cmon all you drinkers please tell me! It amazes me how alcohol consumers are the marijuana experts!!Its hilarious!

              • Researcher says:

                Can you provide the medical journal, name of the article and date so that I can research your claim? Surely if what you say is true and your onocologist is one of the best in his field, he or one of his colleagues would have written and posted an article in a medical journal.

        • Sandy Bottom says:

          Complete bs in his first paragraph too.

          Regular drinkers are less affected by alcohol than newcomers. We still don’t let regular drinkers drive drunk.

  19. Ruthless says:

    Just a thought! If he hadn’t used the illegal drug, it wouldn’t be in his system! Also, if there was no alcohol in his blood than surely it had to be the marijuana! Be for real, would drug he took a month ago still make him impaired? No, it wouldn’t! So obviously he had to have just used it! Plus he probably told the Police he had just used it!

  20. Keepin' it Real...4Real! says:

    If you are Ignorant to the FACTS which i can readily see that 99% of you are, here is ALL the scientific information on this SUBJECT so that maybe we can have an intelligent debate…but after you have researched this there should not be anything to debate except if you are deemed to lose your blackmarket profits…trust me ,Governments all over the globe is waiting for the infrastructure to be in total control of the worlds largest cash crop so that me and you cant get a piece of the pie.
    Now it will be interesting to hear if any of you after educating yourself have changed your fraudulent theories. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd6YT9YUqOr_aa0qVgkq0gQ

  21. Just Sayin says:

    I watched bits of that program just this morning. Perhaps you need to review the driving portion of it again as you seem have missed something in that segment.
    The driving instructor who conducted the tests comments include the statements, “After the cannabis, she was much more cautious, she’s frightened. Her sense of risk doesn’t add up to the real risk.”
    Though the test required her to speed up to 70 kph, she while under the influence of cannabis reached a top speed of 33 kph, which she stated, “In my head, it seemed like I was going really fast, that I’m nearly out of control.”
    Also note, that her braking distance was much lower on the weed than either her sober test or most notably the test after drinking a bottle of wine.
    Even though I got the impression that overall the show presented a bias against cannabis, the driving tests show that the user is far more cautious on cannabis than when not.
    Therefore, GW’s comments above are not as incorrect as you seem to want to portray.

  22. Keepin' it Real...4Real! says:

    Mother Nature cannot be Patented, so i thought, but guess what the USA have done ….watch and learn once again… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzMOILmljeA

  23. dread 1love says:

    yh boy was charged lol but da Bermuda police gotta stop it….bigga crimes going on out there b…and da exposed him #sad

    • Ruthless says:

      And then as soon as someone impaired through drugs or alcohol kills a member of ya family, you would be the first to ask where we’re the police! Blah blah blah! SMH

      • Come Correct says:

        My cousin got ran down. Where were the police? Oh right, in the rover that ran him down.

  24. Wannabee says:

    Excuse me,while I light my spliff!

  25. Sara says:

    Here we go guys. You can bet your boots that these countries plagued by horrific violence over drugs being illegal will start to legalize pot and possibly other drugs over the next couple of years to cripple organized crime.

    http://news.yahoo.com/uruguay-become-first-country-legalize-marijuana-trade-061238668.html