Happy tears at Waverley
In this Waverley drug driving case study, Boorman Lawyers appeared at Waverley Local Court, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Our lawyer, Joshua Boorman, says he left his client in tears, but happy tears. The client, a 24-year-old man, was before the court on his second offence of driving with an illicit drug present.
Two offences, two court dates
Our lawyer had represented the same client at Waverley in February for a first drug driving offence, which had happened in October the year before. He was put off the road for three months for that offence.
At that time, no one knew a second charge was coming. The second offence had happened on Christmas Day, a couple of months after the first, but police did not lay the charge until after the first matter was finalised. Josh explains that it takes time for police to charge in these matters, because samples are sent to a laboratory and the results can take several months.
Why the timing mattered
Our lawyer says it would have been ideal to deal with both charges together in February. Because the second charge came later, it was categorised as a second offence, where he says the penalties are effectively doubled, with a minimum disqualification of six months instead of three. The client was facing at least six more months off the road.
A dark period, and a turnaround
Our lawyer explains why the two offences happened so close together. At the end of 2021, the client went through an emotional break-up with his girlfriend and lost two friends to suicide. He was unemployed, had no direction and was spending time with people who used illicit drugs. He was spiralling out of control.
The catalyst for change was a full-time job he started at the beginning of the year, in a field he is passionate about and qualified in, photography and graphic design. He found a new group of friends and stopped taking drugs. He sees a psychologist regularly for depression and anxiety, takes antidepressant medication and works out every day. He had stayed drug-free and offence-free all year, and evidence of this was put before the court.
The outcome
Josh presented the case as one where the ghosts of the past kept coming back to haunt a young man who was trying to move forward. The magistrate showed real compassion and leniency, making a conditional release order for two years without conviction. That meant no disqualification and no fine.
If he breaks the law or goes back to taking drugs and it comes to the attention of authorities, he will be in breach. The magistrate warned that if he came back before the court, especially for a similar offence, he would not receive the same leniency and would definitely be convicted and put off the road. Our lawyer describes the client as ecstatic and absolutely relieved.
What this Waverley drug driving case study shows
A second drug driving offence does not always mean a conviction and time off the road, but the outcome depends heavily on the person’s circumstances and what they have done to address the cause of the offending. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the facts.
Key general information (NSW)
General information only, not legal advice, as at October 2026. Every case turns on its own facts.
- Drug driving offences: As at October 2026, Transport for NSW lists the drugs detected by roadside saliva tests as active THC (cannabis), methylamphetamine (speed or ice), MDMA (ecstasy) and cocaine.
- The broad penalty picture: For a second or subsequent offence of driving with an illicit drug present, Transport for NSW lists a maximum court-imposed fine of $3,300, a minimum disqualification of 6 months and an automatic disqualification of 12 months (as at October 2026).
- Conditional release orders: The NSW Sentencing Council explains that a conditional release order (CRO) can be made with or without recording a conviction.
- Other low-end sentencing options: If an offence is not trivial enough to be dismissed under section 10 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, but there are other good reasons not to impose a penalty, the court can convict the person without any other penalty under section 10A.
Further reading and related videos
Boorman Lawyers has more on appearing at Waverley Local Court, NSW drug driving offences and penalties and no-conviction outcomes in NSW. Its Sydney site covers drug and drink driving matters across Sydney courts.
On this site, see a Taree first drug driving case that ended with a CRO and a Lismore repeat drug driving case, or browse all NSW and drug driving videos.
For people who are preparing to plead guilty without a lawyer, DIY DUI’s guide to drink and drug driving charges at Waverley covers the local court and plea process. (DIY DUI is a self-help program for people preparing their own guilty plea. It is not legal representation and is not part of Boorman Lawyers.)
Read the video transcript
Just here at Waverley Local Court in the eastern suburbs of Sydney today and it's been a really good day um I've just left my client now in tears but their tears their happy tears um you see my client, a 24 year old young man I represented him here at Waverley in February for a an offence of drive with drug present in his system that offence was dealt with in uh sorry occurred in October last year however at the time of dealing with that offence in February this year
We we had no idea that a second offence of drive with drug present was forthcoming um he was uh [unclear] that um second offence on the on Christmas day last year so a couple of months after the other one but police didn't actually lay the charge until after we had dealt with the first matter in court in February so it's all a bit messy and mixed up but effectively there was two drug driving offences uh we had dealt with the first one
Then after we dealt with the first one in court he was [unclear] formally charged with the second offence it does take some time for police to lay a charge in these types of drug driving matters because they need to send samples off to the police lab and it can often take several months for the results to come back before they can actually charge people so unfortunately it would have been ideal to deal with both of the drug driving charges at the same time in February
But because the charge didn't come through after that court date this particular offence was categorised as a second offence where the penalties are effectively doubled minimum disqualification is six months instead of three months as a first offence um I mean the reason being why he had accumulated two um serious drug driving offences in a relatively short period of time was at the back end of 2021 he had gone through an emotional break-up with his girlfriend he lost two friends to suicide he was unemployed he had no direction he was hanging out with wrong people wrong crowd who were partakers of illicit drugs he was spiralling out of control
Um that's why there was these two offences which occurred within a couple of months of each other now the catalyst for turning his life around was the fact that he went and got a job a full-time job at the beginning of the year in a vocation that he is real passion for and that he also has qualifications in in photography and graphic design he's been working there all year he has found a new group of friends he's no longer taking drugs he does suffer from depression
Anxiety and he's been replacing the drug taking and hanging out with the wrong crowd by seeing his psychologist regularly he's on antidepressant medication and he's been working out every day so he's now living a healthy lifestyle which is fuelled his ability to be able to live drug-free so he's remained completely drug and offence free all of this year and he's been working full-time now we're able to present evidence before the court to show the court that he has completely turned his life around since the start of the year he was in a very dark place last year when those offences occurred
But he has really done everything he can to turn his life around he was put off the road for three months for the first offence in February um and he was facing at least six months for this particular offence uh going forward today um I did present this case it was a matter that ideally we would have liked to have dealt with both of the charges at the same time but because police delays um the charge came through later
He was effectively going to be facing a further period of time off the road at a higher penalty because we couldn't deal with them at the same time but I also did present the case like this it was a case where he was in a dark place last year he has turned his life around and still the ghosts of the past are coming back to haunt him when he's always trying to do is move forward in a good positive direction
But he keeps getting brought down by the ghosts of the past so the court did magistrate today showed a real uh level of compassion and leniency by granting my client a conditional release order um and put on a good behaviour bond for a period of two years so effectively that means he will not be disqualified today he won't be convicted he won't be fined he is put on a good behaviour bond for two years so if he breaks the law or returns back to taking drugs in any way shape or form
It comes to the attention of authorities then he will be in breach of that the magistrate said that um if he is back before him on any uh sort of matter then he won't be given the same level of leniency especially if it's a similar offence will be definitely convicted and put off the road walked out of court today with happy tears ecstatic absolutely relieved this matter's been weighing on him for a long period of time and he is
Now living a good healthy positive lifestyle I don't think we'll see him before the courts again but he has certainly been given a very stern warning but a one-off let off by the magistrate here at Waverley Court today thanks for tuning in and um see you next time.
General information only, based on New South Wales law at the time of filming. Not legal advice — every case turns on its own facts. Past results don't guarantee future outcomes.
