High Court of Justice

摘要

The present case concerned an appeal by way of Case Stated following the conviction of W for the possession of psilocybin mushrooms, a Class A drug, contrary to s. 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1972. W admitted possessing dried mushrooms which were found during a search of his premises having, by his own admission, picked them from a field in October 2013. Scientific analysis of the mushrooms was undertaken prior to the trial which identified them as psilocybin but on the day of the trial a 'difficulty had arisen because... there had not been an agreement to that evidence by the defence' (at [40]). In the absence of any scientific evidence the Crown decided to proceed, relying instead on the evidence of Mr Forster, a civilian working for the police, who the magistrates 'found to be an expert in the identification of drugs' (at [8]).