Hampton Roads DUI Drug Arrests

When an officer believes that a person is under the influence of substances while driving, they can charge the individual with a DUI. It is illegal for someone to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However, it can be difficult for the officer to determine what exactly the person is under the influence of if the individual is impaired due to drugs. With alcohol, officers can often smell the presence of alcohol on the driver’s breath. However, that is not usually the case with a driver who is under the influence of drugs. There is an odor of marijuana but many other drugs are odorless, which means the officer has to observe the driver’s behavior. For more information about Hampton Roads DUI drug arrests, reach out to a seasoned DUI drug attorney.

Law Enforcement Treatment of Drug DUIs

When an officer pulls someone over for a suspected DUI, the officer is looking for clues of intoxication based on a person’s behavior. Anytime a person is suspected of driving under the influence of a substance, it is a serious priority for law enforcement. DUIs are a hot-button issue these days and police are very strict about making Hampton Roads DUI drug arrests and removing intoxicated drivers from the roadway. It does not matter if the person was under the influence due to alcohol or drugs, either way, the police are going to take the situation seriously. The procedure for determining intoxication is somewhat different from alcohol as opposed to drugs, but it is still handled and treated the same by law enforcement and the courts.

Treatment of Marijuana During DUI Drug Arrests

Many states around the country have legalized marijuana, however, the drug is still illegal in Virginia. Even if the drug was legal, it would still be a DUI if a person was driving under the influence of marijuana. Law enforcement is still going to arrest the person and the courts will prosecute them.

Evidence an Officer Looks For in a Drug DUI Case

Whenever a person is pulled over, police quickly scan the car to see if there is anything suggesting the use of drugs. If they believe the driver is intoxicated, they may conduct an investigation and ask to search the car for drugs. After the officer asks the driver to step out of the car, they may administer a field sobriety test. In a field sobriety test, the police are not only testing a person’s reflex, but they are also testing their ability to follow directions. Often, if a person is impaired under any substance, they are going to have trouble physically and mentally with completing the test.

Other evidence law enforcement may use to determine if the individual is intoxicated is a blood test. A blood test can be used to show if a person has a drug in their system.

Similarity and Differences of Drug DUI and Alcohol DUI Cases

Hampton Roads DUI drug arrests are similar to alcohol-related DUIs in the sense that the officer has to establish that the individual was driving under the influence. The officer does that through observations and through chemical analysis of the person’s breath or blood. However, breath tests are not effective for drug DUI cases. To do this, the officer can test the driver’s blood or urine to show that they had some sort of substance in their system that caused them to be impaired. Alcohol testing is much easier to conduct and present at trial, while drug testing is more complicated. Another difference between drug DUI and alcohol DUI cases is that people have a better grasp of the effects alcohol has on the body as compared to drugs.