A driver has been banned from the roads after he smoked a joint then got behind the wheel.
James Skinner was seen by an officer in an unmarked police car driving at "excessive speed" and through a red light in the Wallsend area of North Tyneside.
The 19-year-old was pulled over in his Renault Clio and failed a roadside drugs test, a court heard.
He was arrested and a blood sample later revealed he had 3.2 microgrammes of cannabis intoxicant in 1 litre of blood when the legal limit is 2 microgrammes.
Skinner, of Beckford Close, in Wallsend has now been fined and banned from the roads for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of driving while over the drug limit.
James Long, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court, said Skinner was first spotted by an officer in an unmarked police car at around 9.10pm on March 2 this year.
Mr Long added: "The officer is in the Wallend area and his attention is drawn to a Renault Clio driving at excessive speed. It then goes through a red light at a junction with Station Road.
"The defendant is stopped by the officer and its noticed he smells of cannabis."
The court heard that Skinner only had three, unrelated offences on his record, which dated back to 2014.
Mark Harrison, defending, said Skinner was not grossly over the limit and claimed he had been driving within the speed limit.
The solicitor continued: "At some point, he can't remember when before driving, he's had a smoke of a joint. Then, he's driven, not believing he was intoxicated by it."
Magistrates fined Skinner £120 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.
