Police have been ordered to pay costs after a court dismissed charges against a tradie accused of possessing 0.004 grams of cocaine during a night out in Civic.
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The 22-year-old man attracted the attention of officers one night in February after an altercation with another man outside Cube nightclub.
Police allegedly told him: "Mate, your eyes are huge".
"Yeah I've already taken the drugs what are you going to do about it?" it's alleged the man replied.
"It's for personal use there's nothing you can do about it."
Police searched the man and seized his phone, which they said had a "significant" amount of white powder on its case.
The quantity, police said, was more than merely residue.
Later lab tests on a four thousandths of a gram mixture of the white powder and an unidentified "brown substance" showed the presence of cocaine.
Police charged the tradie with possession and breaching an earlier sentence order.
On Wednesday in the ACT Magistrates Court, prosecutors withdrew the charges and the case was dismissed.
The police were ordered to pay the man's costs.
The man's lawyer Sarah Boxall told The Canberra Times: "It is a relief to see a sensible application of prosecution policy in this case. I am satisfied with the result for my client."
