A pharmacist who was sent to prison after a block of cannabis resin was found in his car following a night out with colleagues has been struck from the register by order of the Statutory Committee.
At its meeting on May 16, the committee inquired into the case of Mr Paul Robert Crawford, of 14 Farm Lane, Christchurch, Dorset. Information had been received that on August 26, 1999, at Mid Sussex magistrates court, Mr Crawford had pleaded guilty to and been convicted of possession of a Controlled Drug, namely, cannabis resin, with intent to supply. Mr Crawford had been sentenced to two months' imprisonment for that offence.
Mr G. F. R. Hudson, of Penningtons (solicitors) appeared in order to present the facts of the case to the committee. Mr Crawford was present at the inquiry and was represented by his father, Professor R. Crawford.
The committee heard that Mr Crawford had registered on August 4, 1997. In the early hours of June 3, 1999, a car which he had been driving had been involved in an accident. The police had been called to the scene and had found in the car, among other items, a 250g block of cannabis resin. When asked if he knew what it was, he had said it was "dope" and he had been carrying it for someone else.
In an interview, Mr Crawford had told the police that the previous evening he had been drinking with colleagues and had gone back to the house of one of them and had more to drink. He was asked, and agreed, to take "something" to an address in Brighton, where he lived.
He had not seen what it was, as it had been put in the glove compartment of his car but had thought it was "a bit of dope". He had had no idea of the magnitude of the block; he himself did not smoke cannabis.
He told the committee that what he had done was completely out of character; he had made a stupid decision in an intoxicated state, and had been duped. He added that he had also been on prescribed medication at the time.
Giving the committee's decision, the chairman (Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, QC) said there was no evidence that Mr Crawford had made any personal gain out of his action. However, the committee was not impressed that he should have blamed the medication he was under or sought refuge in the fact that he had been irresponsibly drunk. It also gave some disquiet that he did not seem to be prepared to acknowledge much personal responsibility for his act.
The committee was bound to conclude that Mr Crawford's name should be removed from the register, and so ordered. He had three months to appeal against the decision.
The chairman added that the committee was aware of Mr Crawford's age and hoped that at some future point he might determine whether he wished to return to the profession of pharmacy.