A STUDENT who took ecstasy at a dance festival and was caught drug driving the following day has successfully appealed her conviction.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Williamstown woman Kirra Jade Young, 19, travelled to Strawberry Fields near Tocumwal last November.
The festival is regularly targeted by police from both sides of the border with sniffer dogs, roadside drug tests and car searches.
Young took ecstasy about 11am on November 21.
She took a drug test using a kit by Blow Me First the following day, which showed there were no drugs in her saliva.
As a result, the teenager became the designated driver for her group.
Police drug tested Young a short distance from the festival site as she drove to Greenways Holiday Units in Cobram Street about 3pm.
She tested positive for methamphetamine and admitted she had taken ecstasy.
Young was convicted in a local court in May and given a three-month driving disqualification, with conviction, which she appealed in Albury District Court on Monday.
The student told the court she wanted to move to the Polynesian island of Wallis once she had finished her studies to teach English.
To do that, she needs a visa, which she would struggle to get with the criminal record.
Young reconnected with her father on Wallis island about a decade ago and has family members she once never knew about who live there.
She also plans to be a primary school teacher in Victoria and would have to pass a criminal record check.
Young told the court she had believed there was a chance the drugs could have still been in her system.
She said she regretted her actions and realised what an impact they could have on her future.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise (for) my decisions that have led me here,” she said.
Young has undergone several drug tests since the incident and would undertake a drug driving course if she was eligible.
Judge Clive Jeffreys said she had otherwise been of good character.
He noted she had undergone the Blow Me First test, which showed no drugs in her system, before choosing to drive.
Mr Jeffreys set aside the original penalty and placed Young on a 12-month good behaviour bond without conviction.
She must not lose three or more demerit points from her licence as part of the bond.