Ventura Drug DUI Attorney

Defending Drug DUI Charges in California

DUI charges are typically associated with alcohol, but drugs may also cause a user to be pulled over for impaired driving. Drivers can be charged for being under the influence whenever any controlled substance is taken which decidedly impaired their ability to practice safe driving. Drugs that can lead to this charge include:

• Marijuana, regardless of whether it is medical or recreational
• Prescription drugs
• Over-the-counter medications
• Illegal substances

The key takeaway is that, even if the substance itself is not illegal, driving while impaired by its properties is. If you were charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, you should contact our attorneys immediately.

For legal representation in English or Spanish, contact attorneys from Wilfert Law P.C.

How Do Police Officers Test for Drug DUI?

Drugs do not leave a blood alcohol concentration level in the same way that alcohol does. Because of this, testing and charging someone for driving under the influence of drugs follows a different process. To test and charge a driver with drug DUI, the driver must take either a blood or urine test. Unlike alcohol, where there is a mandated .08 blood alcohol concentration limit, there is no predetermined limit for drugs that renders it a DUI.

This leads to a significant gray area, and room for legal defense. Whereas you may get charged for having any amount of controlled substances in your system, our lawyers could help you argue that the amount you ingested was not impairing you or hindering your ability to drive safely and abide by the rules of the road.

What Can a Drug DUI Defense Attorney Do?

Our attorneys will begin by reviewing your drug test procedure. If the tests were not taken properly or were stored incorrectly, it could be sufficient grounds to have the test expelled from the record.

Our attorneys will also review the behaviors that the officer reported and offer alternative reasonings for them. If the officer noted that you seemed tired or distracted, we will review the situation to see if the behaviors were due to anxiety or other factors.

If drugs were found in your system through a reliable test, our attorneys can work to disprove that it was a dangerous amount and show that it caused no impairment.

What Are the Consequences of DUI Drugs?

DUI drugs are harder to prosecute given the above factors, but once convicted, many of the penalties remain similar. For a first DUI drug charge in California, you could face:

• Three to five years of informal probation
• A fine of at least $390
• A six-month driver’s license suspension
• Drug education classes for at least three months
• Six months in county jail (this is reserved for extreme cases and is typically not a result of a first offense)

The penalties will be more severe if you have been previously charged with drug DUI.

If the drugs that caused the impaired driving were illegal, and if you had said substances in your possession, your charge could be considerably harsher. If you were caught with illegal substances on your person or in your vehicle, call our attorneys immediately. During our complementary initial case review, we will examine all the facts and evidence and devise a plan to move forward.

Call our attorneys at: (805) 324-6777 for immediate assistance. We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Whenever disaster strikes, our lawyers will be there to guide you through it.