Ventura DUID Attorneys

If you’ve been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, a Ventura DUID lawyer from Lessem, Newstat & Tooson, LLP can help you understand your legal rights and options. After an arrest, you may feel like the evidence is stacked against you, but you don’t have to face this challenge alone.

What is DUID?

You might assume that the term DUI, or “driving under the influence,” refers to alcohol. In reality, DUI refers to operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, drugs, and other substances, too. According CA VC §23152(a), it is illegal for an individual to operate a vehicle under the influence of any drug or alcoholic beverage. For example, it is illegal to operate a vehicle with certain prescription drugs in your system. DUI that involves any type of illegal or controlled substance is illegal as well.

The law also indicates that it is illegal for an individual to drive under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the same time. CA VC§23152(c), prohibits any individual from driving a motor vehicle while addicted to any illegal or controlled drug.

Generally, when referring to driving under the influence of drugs, the term DUID is used.

Today, the U.S. has launched a multifaceted effort to eliminate all forms of DUI – including drugged driving. The NIH reports that drugs impair the brain’s ability to control mental and physical functions associated with driving. For example, some drugs may cause the driver to act aggressively and others may cause the driver to lose their depth perception or reaction time.

Although each drug distorts the driver’s perception of reality in a slightly different way, the principal concern with driving under the influence of any drug remains the same:

• The safety of innocent motorists
• Passengers
• Pedestrians
• Bicyclists
• Bystanders

Unfortunately, the laws associated with drugged driving are far less comprehensive than drunk driving laws. Because of this, drugged driving cases can become extremely complex.

Drugged Driving and the Law

Although policy officials and public health officials acknowledge the dangers of drugged driving, relatively little technological advancement has been made to help law enforcement make fair and successful drugged driving arrests. For instance, impaired motorists can be arrested for drunk driving if they fail a breathalyzer test. On the other hand, law enforcement has failed to produce a tool that can accurately determine whether or not an individual is operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs.

Why? Although drugs are often detectable in an individual’s bloodstream, saliva, or urine, the presence of a controlled substance in your body does not necessarily mean that you are impaired. Because of this, some states allow law enforcement officers to arrest drivers with any detectible trace of an illegal drug in their system.

Marijuana & California Vehicle Code §23152(a)

From the perspective of a prosecutor, proving that a driver was intoxicated is significantly easier than demonstrating that the driver was under the influence of a drug; especially marijuana which may be one of the most difficult DUIDs to prove in court.

The active ingredient in marijuana is called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and is a chemical substance. THC can remain traceable in your body for nearly two weeks after use. For example, police may conduct a blood test to determine if a driver used marijuana. While testing could indicate levels of THC in the driver’s system, it cannot reveal when the driver used the drug. This means that DUID test methods cannot actually show if a person was under the influence of marijuana while driving.

Marijuana DUI Prosecution Techniques

If you were arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana in Ventura, the prosecution may use several types of evidence against you in court. In order to convict you, prosecutors must show that you were impaired by marijuana and that your level of impairment kept you from driving safely.

Although California law does not require law enforcement to convict you of driving under the influence of any specific drug, most prosecution strategies attempt to show that the driver used a specific substance to make their cases appear credible.

During a marijuana DUI case, the prosecutor will probably use the following evidence to pursue a conviction:

• Chemical Testing – The prosecutor will probably show a chemical test, such as a blood or urine test, that shows THC in your system. However, these tests cannot show when the substance entered your bloodstream, making them unreliable during a DUI case.
• Field Sobriety Testing – Field sobriety tests are used to measure an individual’s level of impairment through a series of simple tasks. For example, law enforcement may test your ability to balance. If you fail sobriety testing, the prosecutor may hold this against you in court as evidence of marijuana impairment.
• Physical Appearance – Police officers often cite your physical appearance as probable cause for a DUI investigation or arrest. If you demonstrated signs of marijuana use, prosecutors may claim that you drove impaired. This type of evidence is not always reliable since symptoms of marijuana use can be accounted for by other factors, such as exhaustion.
• Driving Patterns – During a DUI investigation, police officers may attribute driving patterns (speed, weaving through traffic, unnecessary lane changes, etc.) to marijuana impairment. However, most of these patterns can be caused by tiredness, distraction, and other variables.

Police Investigation During a Marijuana DUI Case

Generally speaking, the arresting officer in a DUI case will testify that he/she believes that you drove under the influence of marijuana because of your physical appearance, driving patterns, and inability to pass field sobriety testing. Additionally, the officer might say that breath testing showed that your impairment was not associated with alcohol.

For example, an officer may suspect that you drove under the influence of alcohol, conduct a breath test, and discover that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was only .01%. At this point, the officer might assume that your impairment was caused by drug use.

Once law enforcement suspects that the driver is under the influence of marijuana or another drug, he/she will call a Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE) to continue the investigation and testify about this evidence in court.

Drug Recognition Evaluators

A DRE officer is trained to identify drug impairment. Because law enforcement has not developed an effective test to measure actual levels of impairment, they use DREs to collect evidence of substance impairment that is not connected with alcohol.

During the investigation, the officer will try to determine:

• If the driver is under the influence of drugs
• Which drugs affected the suspect’s ability to operate a car

If a DRE suspects that you are under the influence of marijuana, he/she will look for these symptoms:

• Short-term memory loss
• Dry mouth
• Uninhibited behavior
• Body tremors
• Eyelid tremors
• The smell of marijuana
• High blood pressure
• Elevated heart rate
• Dilated pupils

Although these symptoms can indicate marijuana use, they are not exclusively connected with drug impairment.

DUI and Prescription Drugs/Sleep Medications

“Sleep-driving,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), occurs when a driver operates a motor vehicle when he/she is not fully conscious. The FDA states that “sleep-driving is defined as driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event.”

In other words, a person could sleep drive when he/she operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of prescription medication. While drugged driving is still dangerous, some DUIDs are not the result of irresponsible choices, rather they are caused by sleep disorder drugs. Thus, police officers could arrest a driver for DUID if he/she is found sleep-driving, even though the driver may not be aware of his/her actions.

Common medications associated with sleep-driving include:

• Ambien
• Sonata
• Halcion
• Carbrital
• Lunesta
• Prosom
• Dalmane

Evidence in Prescription Drug DUIs

Like any drugged driving case in California, most of the evidence held against you in court will probably be brought by the arresting officer and a DRE.

During a DUID investigation, the arresting officer and DRE may determine that you are under the influence of prescription medication if you exhibit the following symptoms:

• Heavy eyelids
• Constricted pupils
• Slow breathing/heart rate
• Drowsiness
• Slowed or raspy speech
• Nausea

While these symptoms are not always associated with drug use, law enforcement may use them as probable cause for a DUI arrest. Additionally, police officers may use chemical testing to identify prescription medication in your urine or blood. Vicodin and Hydrocodone are two common medications associated with prescription drug DUIs in California.

Defenses Against Drugged Driving Charges

Similar to DUI, proving that there was no probable cause or that law enforcement did not properly follow procedures related to breath, blood, or urine samples could provide a strong defense.

Specific to DUID, CA VC§23152(c) prohibits an individual from driving a motor vehicle while addicted to any illegal or controlled drug, however, you may not be convicted of drugged driving if you are currently enrolled and participating in a narcotic treatment program. This possible defense is upheld by Health and Safety Code §23152(c).

Two common prescription drug DUI defense strategies include:

• Chemical Testing – Chemical tests can reveal a prescription drug in your system, but this does not mean that you are under the influence of a controlled substance. Although many prescription medications can impair your ability to drive for a short amount of time, they stay in your system for many weeks.
• Physical Appearance & Driving Pattern – Law enforcement may cite your physical appearance as evidence against you in a prescription drug case. For example, an officer could claim that you drove under the influence of prescription drugs because your speech seemed slurred and your eyes appeared bloodshot or watery. In reality, many of the physical characteristics associated with prescription drug impairment may be caused by exhaustion as well.

Our team will examine the specifics of your case and tailor our strategy to your unique situation to ensure a strong defense.

It is important to note that implied consent laws also apply to drugged driving cases. If a police officer suspects that you are driving under the influence of drugs, you are obligated to submit to a blood or urine test to determine whether or not you are driving under the influence.

DUID Penalties in California

If convicted of DUID in California, you may be subject to six months in a county jail and a minimum fine of $390. However, aggravated circumstances (such as bodily harm) may enhance these penalties.

If convicted of drugged driving again within ten years, you may be subject to 1 year of incarceration in a county jail and another minimum $390 fine. Third offenses are subject to $1,000 fines and three years of imprisonment. Third and subsequent convictions can result in “habitual offender” classification and license revocation. If your arrest is associated with an injury, you may be subject to harsher penalties. For example, injury-related DUID is punishable by mandatory license suspension and revocation after the first and second offenses.

Start Building Your Defense Today

Lessem, Newstat & Tooson, LLP is committed to giving each case the personalized care and attention to detail it deserves. If you’ve been arrested for a crime you know you didn’t commit, you need a high-quality defense attorney on your side.

Contact our office today to see what an attorney from the firm can do for your drugged driving case.