Albany magistrate tells man charged over cannabis possession he should have taken Cheezels to party instead

An Albany man who said he had cannabis in his possession because he “never goes to parties empty-handed” has been fined, with the magistrate telling him he should have taken Cheezels instead. Nathan Van Der Ross, 39, appeared in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with possession of prohibited drugs with intent to sell or supply and exceeding 0.08g of alcohol per 100ml of blood. It was his first court appearance after he was referred to the Alcohol and Other Drug Diversion Program following his guilty plea to both charges on January 19. Police prosecutor Sgt Matt Hartfield told the court the charges stemmed from police stopping Van Der Ross when he was driving on Hanrahan Road about 1.50am on December 23. Van Der Ross gave a blood alcohol content reading of 0.104g. When police searched his car, they found a bag underneath the driver’s seat containing two clip-seal bags of cannabis with a total weight of 98.9g. The bag also contained a small set of digital scales and small empty clip-seal bags. Van Der Ross said he had just come from a party, admitting to the officers that he was supplying friends with the cannabis, which he had originally bought from a man who offered it to him in a shopping centre car park. “I never go to a party or drinks empty-handed,” Van Der Ross said to police. His defence lawyer told the court the cannabis was mainly for Van Der Ross’ personal use, repeating his claim that he never attends a party “empty-handed”. Magistrate Dianne Scaddan told Van Der Ross if he wanted to bring something with him to the party, he should have taken a snack, not drugs. “Most people just take some Cheezels or something to a party, they don’t usually take marijuana. . .,” she said. Van Der Ross received a $1700 fine and had his licence disqualified for 10 months for the excess 0.08 charge, and received an eight-month community-based order for the drugs charge.