A 30-year-old Southampton man facing a drugs charge had to be escorted from Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after he complained of feeling ill.

Makonnan Lowe felt dizzy after he admitted possessing 6.54 grams of cannabis in Warwick on November 9 last year.

Lowe was pulled over by police on South Shore Road. The officers could smell cannabis and when they questioned Lowe, he said: “It’s only a joint”.

A search yielded two twists of plant material and Lowe was arrested. In court, he reiterated that it was a small amount: “It wasn’t like I had pounds and pounds riding around South Shore.”

When asked if he would be willing to observe Drug Treatment Court, Lowe agreed but said he did not have a problem.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe said that even if Lowe felt there was nothing wrong with smoking cannabis, “the problem is it’s still illegal and you can still go to prison”.

Mr Wolffe said this would particularly be the case because Lowe was out in public and because he had “done time before”.

At this point, Lowe sat down and started asking for water before being escorted away.

Mr Wolffe later said he would consider whether Drug Treatment Court would be a viable option but no further information about Lowe’s condition or sentencing was made available.

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