New Kent Drug DUI Lawyer
You can be charged with a DUI in New Kent for drug-related impairment. Drug DUIs may be more complicated than alcohol-related DUIs, and they are just as serious. If you or a loved one is facing drug DUI charges, contact an experienced New Kent drug DUI lawyer now.
It is a common misconception that DUI is only applicable when driving under the influence of alcohol; however, Virginia Code 18.2-266 Subsection 3 provides that you can be charged with a DUI while under the influence of any narcotics, other self-administered intoxicants or drugs, or any combination of drugs that impair the ability to operate any motor vehicle, engine or train safely. If you are under the influence of any kind of drug, whether it be marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, aspirin, Tylenol, or prescribed medication, and it impairs your ability to operate a motor vehicle, you can be charged with a DUI.
Prescription Drugs
If you are prescribed a drug that impairs you and you operate a motor vehicle, while impaired from that medication, you can be charged with DUI. It is important to know what is in your prescribed medication so that you can avoid operating a motor vehicle if you are under the influence of an impairing medication.
There is a widespread misconception that if one is prescribed a drug, one cannot be charged with a DUI if you are driving while under the influence of the drug, even if it is impairing. However, that can absolutely lead to a New Kent DUI drug arrest. Being prescribed a drug does not give free rein to operate a motor vehicle if you are under the influence of that drug, even if you may legally possess and use it.
As a result of that mistaken belief, people make incriminating statements to the police about the medication that they have taken because they believe that is not going to hurt them or harm their case. Once someone tells police officers that they are under the influence of certain medications or take certain medication, it can ultimately lead to their arrest for a New Kent drug DUI.
Involuntary Intoxication
Involuntary intoxication is an affirmative defense a drug DUI lawyer in New Kent might use. The key, however, is understanding the difference between voluntary and involuntary intoxication. The difference between voluntary and involuntary intoxication is the method in which the drug entered the body and the person’s knowledge of the effects of the drug.
Involuntary intoxication occurs when something is placed in someone’s body that they did not know was there or was placed in in their body against their will. Someone putting a drug in someone else’s non-alcoholic drink without their knowledge is a common example of involuntary intoxication. However, it is not involuntary intoxication when someone consciously takes a drug, but are solely unaware what the effects of that drug will be.
It is important to know what you are taking and the method in which it will affect you. If you do not know what you are taking and you do not know the method in which it will affect you, it is more important to be safe and not operate a motor vehicle, rather than to put yourself at risk.
Drug Tests
There are two tests that used to test for the presence of drugs – field sobriety tests and a blood test. If the police offer someone a field sobriety test, they can refuse to execute the test. If there is probable cause for an arrest and someone is asked to take a blood test, they cannot refuse that test without penalty of law. They will be charged with a subsequent crime for the refusal.
Hiring a New Kent Drug DUI Attorney
New Kent Drug DUIs are more complicated than alcohol DUIs. Therefore, it is important to hire a drug DUI lawyer in New Kent that has been involved in alcohol and drug DUI cases in the past. She or he should understand the elements of a DUI and also the effects that the specific drug or substance can have on the defendant and the way it can affect the DUI case. That is important to make constitutional challenges and to challenge the individual elements of the DUIDs and a New Kent DUI drug attorney can help.
