Instagram Nurse Gets Suspension, Not Disgrace, for Drug Run

An Instagram influencer and nurse, Levi Whalley, has received a 12-month suspension from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) instead of losing her license over a drug smuggling conviction. Whalley, 32, and a friend were apprehended at Birmingham Airport in December 2023 attempting to bring over 35kg of cannabis, valued at £160,000, into the UK. Whalley claimed they were returning from a New York shopping trip, but 19kg of cannabis was found in her suitcase.

Whalley, a single mother with almost 45,000 followers and a history in healthcare since age 18, qualified as a nurse in 2019. She was convicted of drug smuggling in February 2025 and received a suspended prison sentence in April 2025. The NMC tribunal acknowledged her difficult personal circumstances at the time, which have since resolved, and her desire to return to nursing.

The NMC panel deemed a striking-off order "disproportionate and unduly punitive" given the "specific and unusual circumstances." They concluded the conviction was not fundamentally incompatible with her remaining on the register. The 12-month suspension was considered appropriate to mark the seriousness of the conviction.