Council worker said he turned to drugs to ease pain after hand injury

Mitchell Davidson, 28, was caught carrying a small quantity of cannabis after police were called to an address in Billingham on August 14.

Prosecutor Lynne Dalton said he appeared “heavily under the influence of intoxicants”, adding : “When he was interviewed he said that he was guilty of possession of cannabis and at the time he said he smoked approximately £10 worth of cannabis every three days.”

Davidson, from Cowpen Lane, Billingham, admitted the offence.

Showing the bench his hand, he told Teesside Magistrates’ Court he smoked to relieve the pain.

He said: “I don’t smoke just to get high.”

Davidson, who was previously found in possession of drugs in 2018 and was last in court in 2020 for assaulting an emergency worker, was told to pay a £143 fine, prosecution costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £57.