Inmate attacks findings of drug test

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A prisoner in New Zealand says he tested positive for marijuana after being subjected to passive smoke.

Brent Stuart Alexander has asked the High Court in Wellington to overturn his drug conviction and award him compensation.

Alexander, a convicted child molester being held for preventive detention, claims that the test that found him over the limit for marijuana's active ingredient was caused by huddling for warmth in the exercise yard with inmates who were smoking marijuana.

Government officials say that the level was too high to come from passive smoke.

Alexander's lawyer says the case has demonstrated that prison officials tolerate drug use.