Man told to find lawyer over cannabis and driving charges
Eric Greig Teokotai faced charges of careless driving causing injury, EBA Blood and possession of cannabis in the Cook Islands High Court. The court told him to find a lawyer before entering a plea and adjourned his case to November 21.
Eric Greig Teokotai’s case was before the Cook Islands High Court, where he was
facing charges of careless driving causing injury, EBA Blood and possession of
cannabis.[1]The court told him to find a lawyer and seek legal advice because
of the seriousness of his case, and he was to do so before entering a plea.[1]
His case was adjourned to November 21.[1]His callover was one of seven
different criminal cases that were also adjourned by the High Court in the same
sitting.[1]
He had not entered a plea when the case was put off, with his plea to follow
once he had spoken to a lawyer.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
1
Activity
Possession
Charge
careless driving causing injury, EBA Blood and possession of cannabis
No quantity, form or weight of cannabis was reported for the possession charge.
No date or place of the alleged driving or possession conduct was reported.
The 7 November 2024 incident date is inferred because the article published 8 November 2024 says the adjournments happened yesterday.
No plea, lawyer, later hearing outcome, sentence or other disposal was reported.
The country field uses New Zealand because the tracker registry has no Cook Islands id, as in other Cook Islands reports, while the place is recorded as the Cook Islands High Court.
The account is a brief item in a court roundup led by a different contempt case, and no second source for Teokotai's callover was found.
The Ministry of Justice's cannabis offences tables for the year to 30 June 2026 show 5,690 finalised charges, down from 5,854 a year earlier, and 3,543 people charged, down from 3,606. Convictions were stable: 2,551 people were convicted, against 2,600 in 2024/25, and 558 received imprisonment as their most serious sentence, about 22%.
Ministry of Justice figures reported in March 2026 showed 3,438 people charged with possessing cannabis in 2025, up from 2,881 in 2024 and 2,287 in 2023, the highest number since a 2019 law change told police to consider a health-based response first.
Joseph Wachter was convicted in 2023 after pleading guilty to cultivating cannabis and supplying a Class C drug over more than 30 plants seized in Arorangi in 2021, and the High Court put his sentencing off to 4 October 2024. He had been bailed in 2021 on charges over the same seizure.
Christopher Denny appeared in the Criminal High Court in Avarua on 1 August 2023 on a new charge of supplying a Class C controlled drug, alongside charges of possessing cannabis leaves and utensils. He had been arrested over cannabis leaves in February, and his case was adjourned to 27 October.