passing illegal medication to his convicted mother in a courtroom.

Magistrate Archibald Warner yesterday threw out the case against Kirk Roberts, complaining of the numerous adjournments and the unavailability of a witness.

The move came during a preliminary inquiry into the June 19 incident in which Roberts, of West Side, allegedly passed the controlled drug Lorazepam to his mother while she was in custody.

Mr. Warner dismissed the case after Crown counsel Larry Mussenden asked for another adjournment yesterday because of the unavailability of the principal witness.

"It's a waste of the court's time,'' Mr. Warner said of the much delayed case.

"This is not a playing forum,'' he said, adding he would not enter Mr.

Mussenden's objections in the record. "This matter is dismissed.'' Barbara Roberts was in a Supreme Court room for an appeal on her 12-year prison sentence for drug possession.

Roberts passed a hanky to his mother in the courtroom after she began sobbing during the appeal.

A prison warden stepped in, took the tissue, and told the Court of Appeal it contained "a substance''.

Lorazepam is a medication used to treat anxiety and help in sleeping. It's banned in Bermuda and illegal in the US, but available by prescription in Canada.

Roberts was represented by lawyer Julian Hall.