A man with a long-standing addiction to 'juices' (GHB) has been fined $800 and urged by a Bendigo magistrate to get help and get clean. Nathan Smith, 36, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates Court on December 4 to drug possession after being pulled over earlier this year with both an illicit substance and drug paraphernalia. On October 15 Smith was driving his car with another person in Junortoun around 2.30am when the car was pulled over by police. After carrying out a licence check on the man, police were suspicious there were drugs in the car and searched the vehicle. In a black bag in the back foothold of the car, police found a 600ml Coca-Cola bottle which was filled with roughly 250ml of clear liquid and a syringe containing traces of clear liquid. The clear liquid was butanediol, a chemical found in gamma-hydroxybutyrate or GHB which is a recreational drug used for either euphoric or sedative effects. Smith was arrested and taken to the Bendigo police station where he gave a 'no comment' interview. He also had the drugs and paraphernalia seized. The court heard the 36-year-old had a roughly eight-year addiction to GHB - or commonly referred to as 'juices' - but was wanting to get himself clean. Smith had previously lost his job as a carpenter for failing a drug test but was told he could come back to work if he completed a rehab program. Smith has already been lined up with a residential rehab program due to start in the coming weeks which will run into early next year. Magistrate Michael Coghlan fined the man but warned him to stay out of trouble because if he was continually caught for drug offences he would face a term of imprisonment.
