Under-age drinking sailor escapes dismissal - over

[bongme]

hi

Ananova

Wednesday 15th May 2002

The Royal Navy has sentenced a teenage sailor to 28 days suspended detention for smoking part of a cannabis cigarette.

But Operator Mechanic James Stevenson, who had just turned 17 at the time, received no punishment from a court martial for drinking "pints and spirits in pubs before....nine bottles of lager."

He committed the offence at Plymouth Hoe, Devon, while he was on his first shore leave from HMS Raleigh, the Royal Navy training base in east Cornwall.

Stevenson, now with the destroyer HMS Liverpool, pleaded guilty at the hearing at HMS Drake, Plymouth, to attempted possession of cannabis in July last year.

The president of the court martial board, Captain Adrian Whyntie said that Stevenson had accepted what he thought was a cannabis cigarette from a civilian, smoked some and passed it around colleagues who were with him.

Although a urine sample proved negative for cannabis, Stevenson accepted he believed he had been smoking cannabis, said Capt Whyntie, adding that the amount of alcohol he had consumed was "no excuse."

"The Royal Navy has a zero tolerance to drug abuse, but in exceptional circumstances, where the offender can be described as a youthful experimenter, he may be retained in the service. Those exceptional circumstances are present in your case," said the president.

Prosecutor Lieutenant Commander Katja Samuel said Stevenson, who had been at HMS Raleigh for six weeks, went ashore with four others to Plymouth, where they drank in pubs before buying lager which they drank while watching the Radio One Roadshow on the Hoe.

Back at HMS Raleigh, Stevenson told others there "we smoked weed" and added that he was "wasted," said the prosecutor.

Lieutenant Andrew Murdoch, defending, said Stevenson had drunk pints and spirits before going to the Hoe, where he had nine bottles of lager. He said Stevenson did not seek out the cannabis, it was passed to him and he smoked it as "a youthful experiment."

Bongme