On 19 September 1972, a police constable in Scotland paid a visit to the Paul and Linda McCartney’s aptly-named High Park Farm in Campbeltown, Scotland.
At the time, Wings were recording ‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ at Abbey Road in London.
PC Norman McPhee was one of several local police officers who routinely checked the farm for signs of trespass. He had recently completed a drugs identification course in Glasgow, and in the light Wings’ recent drugs bust in Sweden, might have been curious as to what might be found on the property.
In a greenhouse he spotted plants which looked like marijuana. Back at Campbeltown police station, he checked the plants and was satisfied that he had indeed found cannabis.
McPhee was granted a search warrant, and that afternoon he and seven colleagues raided High Park Farm and Low Ranachan, the two Argyll properties owned by the McCartneys. They discovered a total of five cannabis plants.
Three days after the raid, McCartney was charged on two counts of possession and one of cultivating cannabis. A not guilty plea was submitted in absentia to all three charges, and a trial was set for 8 March 1973.
Riding So High – The Beatles and Drugs
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The only full-length study of the Beatles and drugs, Riding So High tells of getting stoned, kaleidoscope eyes, excess, loss and redemption, with a far-out cast including speeding Beatniks, a rogue dentist, a script-happy aristocratic doctor, corrupt police officers and Hollywood Vampires.
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