Nurse Caught Smuggling Cannabis In Sock Struck Off

A nurse caught smuggling cannabis into Scotland from Amsterdam inside a sock has been struck off.

Amanda Urquhart, who worked with drug addicts and alcoholics, was caught with 72g of the drug when she flew back to Edinburgh International Airport with her partner.

She claimed to have brought a small amount of herbal cannabis for personal use and said she was unaware that there was so much in her luggage when she was searched on 3 December 2011.

The drugs were stashed in seven 'dealer bags' and a sock containing three bags in a smaller plastic container, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

Urquhart, who was employed by Highland Council as a Criminal Justice Officer (Alcohol), claimed she wrapped them in a sock to prevent her clothes from smelling.

She was convicted at the Edinburgh Sheriff's Court on 2 October 2012 for importing the controlled drugs and fined £450.

Urquhart, who worked within the justice system with offenders with addictions, did not inform her managers about her conviction and the matter only came to light when her partner's manager reported it.

Striking her off the NMC's register panel chair Edward Lucas said: 'Ms Urquhart has breached fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and her actions have brought the profession into disrepute.'

Urquhart only accepted responsibility for 23.6g of cannabis, but Mr Lucas added: 'The panel at the substantive hearing was satisfied that Ms Urquhart's actions, resulting in her conviction, fell seriously short of the standards expected of a registered nurse.'

'That panel was further satisfied that Ms Urquhart had committed a serious offence in the importation of controlled drugs and that she had broken the laws of this country.'

Urquhart's suspension order will be replaced with a striking-off order when the former expires on July 31 2015.