A Warrnambool man caught driving on drugs seven times in six months has avoided prison because a magistrate was unable to jail him.
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Andrew Fortune, 50, of Otway Road, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court to three counts of drug driving.
He was also re-sentenced on four of the same charges after the new offending breached a community corrections order.
Magistrate Jon Klestadt said state laws meant he was unable to jail drug drivers.
He said fortunately for Fortune, the maximum penalty was a fine.
Fortune was convicted and fined $2250. Magistrate Klestadt also revoked his 12-month community corrections order and cancelled his licence for 12 months.
Earlier this year Fortune was convicted of four counts of drug driving between November and February.
Magistrate Cynthia Toose placed him on the community corrections order, with conditions he do 120 hours of unpaid community work.
But Fortune was intercepted by police driving on March 8, April 7 and April 27. He tested positive to both cannabis and methamphetamine.
Fortune told the court that he didn't believe that he was impaired at the time of driving.
He said on April 27 he had moved his car from the driveway of his home to a nature strip out the front and that he didn't realise it was illegal to drug drive on his own property.
Magistrate Klestadt said whether or not Fortune felt affected was irrelevant.
"You clearly were affected, if there had been an emergency or a significant issue on the road, you would be going to jail for a number of years," he said.
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