Cannabis: Sharing constituted supply
A barrister found to have bought and supplied cannabis has been reprimanded and fined by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).
Edward Ross, who was called in 2010 and practises from national chambers Clerksroom, was found to have breached the core duty in the Bar Code of Conduct not to “behave in a way which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in you or in the profession”.
His case was subject to a ‘determination by consent’, a procedure which means he will not be referred to a disciplinary tribunal – akin to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s regulatory settlement agreements.
The BSB said Mr Ross “purchased and possessed cannabis, a class B drug, on four occasions between March 2015 and February 2017” and that he also “shared cannabis… with others, on more than one occasion, between March 2015 and February 2017, and such conduct fulfils the criterion for ‘supply’ under section 4(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as amended”.
He was fined £1,500 and given a reprimand.
In other disciplinary news, a Bar Disciplinary Triubnal suspended Ehi Andrew Ukiwa for six months after finding that he had appeared in court on behalf of a client on three separate occasions in 2016 before he had started pupillage.
Mr Ukiwa, who was called in 2010, appeared in court again on behalf of his client in January 2017 when he was a pupil barrister in the first period of his pupillage and thus still unauthorised.
The tribunal’s decision is open to appeal.
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