AN emergency call made to help a man high on acid has landed two men before Cleveland Magistrates Court.
The pair, aged 19 and 20, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis on Tuesday.
One also pleaded guilty to possession of other drugs and drug utensils.
Prosecutor Sergeant Angela Tetley told the court police were greeted with a cannabis smoke haze as they entered a Macleay Island house early on Sunday, May 20.
They and paramedics had been called, with reports a man was sick from taking acid.
When they arrived about 3am, a male slouched outside near a vehicle told them he was hallucinating and sick after taking drugs, with another person inside needing help.
Police found a man lying on a couch and another male in the kitchen. Officers also saw a male run out the back door.
Sergeant Tetley said one later returned to the property and told police he owned the house.
He later confessed to owning the drug paraphernalia seized by police, with which he used to smoke drugs.
Sergeant Tetley said police found cannabis, scissors and drug paraphernalia on a table when they went to help the male on the couch.
More utensils, bongs, pipes, cone pieces, containers and bowls were found in a kitchen cupboard.
“Police spoke to the male about who owned it and if there was any more – the male pointed to the kitchen cupboard and said ‘up there’,” Sergeant Tetley said.
The defence lawyer for the pair told the court her clients were young, employed men who had not used drugs since that day.
“Both men have indicated they smoked cannabis mainly in the past and obviously experimented and that has gone horribly wrong,” she said.
“I would have thought that was enough to scare anybody, when an ambulance shows up on your doorstep.
“... It gave them a bit of a wake up call.”
Magistrate Deborah Vasta warned the men about the poisons in ecstasy before referring them to drug and alcohol counselling.
“I was doing research the other day about ecstasy tablets...you have no idea what is in this stuff,” Ms Vasta said.
“It's really scary stuff, the chemicals they put in there, rat poisons, all sorts of things.”
The court heard both men had previously attended court-ordered drug diversion programs.
One of the men was on a good behaviour bond at the time of offence.
Ms Vasta recorded no conviction and spared the men financial penalties.
“I want you to have another go at counselling sessions ... it will benefit you more than taking several hundred dollars off you,” she said.