Scots musician spared jail over drug driving shame to allow him to get clean

A Scottish musician who was caught driving without insurance while under the influence of two different drugs has gone unpunished over the offences - in a bid to help him get clean.

Ruairidh MacDougall could have been jailed after being caught drug driving in his £30,000 Mercedes-Benz while on ketamine and THC - the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

The talented bass player, who has supported The View and The Libertines, also had five different types of drugs in the car when police swooped.

But the 38-year-old, who played with indie band Brownbear and also worked as a chef in a Michelin-starred restaurant, was spared punishment, with a sheriff sentencing him to attend drug addiction services instead.

He was also banned from driving for 12 months when he appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court 

MacDougall, who boasted about the car in question on social media, had previously pleaded guilty to eight charges and was banned from driving.

MacDougall played with Brownbear as they supported crack cocaine and heroin addict Pete Doherty's The Libertines on a European tour.

And he was found to be in possession of cocaine and four other drugs after being stopped by police in Renfrew Road, Paisley, on July 10 last year.

MacDougall,  who described himself as a "Renaissance Man" online, was nearly three-times the ketamine driving limit, having 57 microgrammes of ketamine per litre of blood, when the limit is 20mcg.

Ketamine is a powerful dissociative anesthetic which is used as a recreational drug because it can induce a trance-like state and cause users to feel detached from their environment

He was also found to be more than 50% over the limit for THC, with 3.1 microgrammes of THC per litre of blood, when the limit is 2mcg.

He also admitted being in possession of ketamine and cannabis, and three other drugs - benzodiazepine Bromazolam, cocaine and etizolam - which is commonly sold as valium.

And he pleaded guilty to driving the black Mercedes-Benz A 180 AMG Line Executive without being insured to do so.

On Friday, a warrant was issued for his arrest when he was not in court for his scheduled hearing.

He had been sent to the wrong court room by accident and the warrant was later recalled and he was sentenced. 

He was placed on an 18-month-long Community Payback Order which will see him supervised by social workers and having to attend addiction services. 

MacDougall, of Moodiesburn, North Lanarkshire, keeps his social media followers informed on his gigs, employment and progress with his fitness regimes.

In one Instagram post the bassist, who played with Brownbear as they supported The View on a Scottish tour, boasted about his car.

He posted a picture of the vehicle and said: "Mercedes A Class AMG Performance. Absolute machine. Feels like a racing simulator inside."

He also told how he had played at T In The Park, at a festival in Switzerland, and supported The Libertines at Glasgow's iconic Barrowlands Ballroom as well as on their European Tour.

And he posted gym pictures, body snaps and photos of supplements as he told how he was trying to transform himself physically.

In one post he wrote: "Bulks gonna be insane. Nae gear, all natty. Feel like foie gras with the surplus though."

In another social media bost, he posted a selfie from a JD Gym and wrote: " Whilst most are sleeping I'm in putting the work in. 

"Cut's going well. Bulks gonna be insane. This is my base physique....I'm just growing now. Going for the greek statue aesthetic.

"All men should throw away their TV/PS5/Xbox and level themselves up. Life's short. Never seek comfort."