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It is important to remember that Driving Under the Influence (DUI) also includes being under the influence of drugs, not just alcohol. Prescription drugs and illicit drugs, as well as cannabis, can interfere with your driving enough to make you a danger and land you in jail for DUI. This article dives into drug-related DUI prosecution in California and covers the following:
As cannabis has become legal in California, it is hard not to notice the change. In many neighborhoods and streets, you can be walking along and just smell the cannabis smoke in the air. Worse, some can even waft into the open windows of cars.
Not everyone realizes, but interestingly, odor alone can lead to a stop, an investigation, and an arrest for DUI. As a result, there have been a lot more prosecutions for people driving under the influence of drugs, some of whom might not have consumed any at all recently.
With the number of prescribed, illicit, and legal drugs people are taking, it is not surprising that police pull people over for erratic driving and ask if they are taking any.
If you answer yes, or the police detect any signs of possible drug consumption or intoxication, including the odor of cannabis or paraphernalia in the car, you could be arrested for DUI. This can lead to some serious consequences, just like a classic alcohol DUI.
DUI charges come with a hefty set of possible penalties for a conviction, regardless of whether drugs or alcohol were involved.
You can face jail time, as well as a consequential fine, and the suspension of your driver’s license for a conviction. Worse, that conviction will stay on your record and could interfere with your education, career, and even family life.
If you have prior DUI convictions on your record, any new conviction will come with exponentially worse penalties. Both in terms of the fines and jail time, as well as the suspension of your license. Prior convictions also make it harder to obtain more lenient punishments or alternative sentencing options if you are convicted.
Certain other aggravating factors can also increase the severity of a drug-related DUI conviction, most notably if someone was injured or put at risk of harm because of your intoxicated driving (especially if there were children in your vehicle or if you caused an accident).
In California, if you take a test and you are arrested for an alcohol-related DUI, you can have your license suspended administratively even before you get convicted. You will then have to contest that if you want to keep driving until your trial.
However, if you take a blood or urine test for possible drug use and intoxication, the police won’t take your license from you administratively or automatically.
Just because you have been arrested does not mean you will be convicted, however. You have fundamental rights under US and California laws that protect you. When you are arrested and prosecuted for DUI in California, you have a right:
And if you choose the right lawyer, that last right, in particular, can make all the difference.
We have successfully defended thousands of DUI cases in Southern California and throughout the state, including a larger and larger number of drug-related DUI claims. You can read more about our work here or listen to what our past clients have to say about our work.
If you have been arrested for a drug-related DUI, call quickly so we can get to work.
For more information on drug-related DUI charges and defenses in California, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 888-4-TOPGUN today.