DUI With Drugs Lawyer | Florida Defense

Can you get a DUI for prescription drugs in Florida?

Yes. Florida DUI covers impairment of normal faculties by alcohol or by a chemical or controlled substance, and a valid prescription is not a defense if the driver's normal faculties were impaired. The central question is usually whether a substance actually impaired the driver at the time of driving, not simply whether it was present.

A drug based DUI is charged under the same statute as an alcohol DUI, F.S. 316.193, and a conviction carries the same lasting consequences: it cannot be sealed or expunged, and FR-44 insurance is required afterward.

How officers investigate suspected drug impairment

A breath test measures alcohol, so when drugs are suspected the investigation often looks different. An officer may call in a DRE, an officer trained in a 12 step evaluation used when drug impairment is suspected. The evaluation ends in an officer's opinion, and opinions can be examined: how each step was performed, what was recorded, and whether the conclusion fits the rest of the evidence.

Roadside exercises, including HGN, walk and turn and one leg stand, may also be part of the investigation. They are meant to be given and scored under NHTSA standards, and conditions such as injuries, fatigue or anxiety can affect performance.

What blood and urine results can and cannot show

Blood tests are used in some cases where drugs are suspected, and the collection, handling and lab procedures can all be reviewed. Urine tests can also be used, but they show the presence of a substance, not necessarily impairment at the time of driving. Some substances can be detected after their effects have ended, which is why presence and impairment are treated as separate questions.

Lab reports are read for what was actually tested, what was found, and what the result does or does not say about impairment. Through discovery the defense receives these records, and Florida allows depositions of witnesses, which can include the people who handled and analyzed samples. Those depositions are narrower in misdemeanor cases, including most DUIs, where the defense generally has to show good cause first.

Building a defense in a drug DUI case

A defense review starts with the stop and then moves to the evidence of impairment: driving behavior, video, roadside exercises, the DRE evaluation and the lab results. Medical conditions and legitimate medication use can help explain observations, although a prescription alone is not a defense if impairment is shown.

Motions to suppress can challenge evidence obtained unlawfully, and depending on the evidence, a case may end by dismissal, plea or trial. The administrative suspension through DHSMV runs separately, with 10 days from the arrest to request a formal review hearing.

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General information only, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Questions about DUI with drugs

The 0.08 standard in Florida's DUI law is a breath or blood alcohol level. Drug DUI cases generally depend on showing impairment of normal faculties by a chemical or controlled substance rather than on a number. That is why the officer's observations, any DRE evaluation and the lab results carry so much weight, and why a urine result showing presence is not the same as proof of impairment.

No. Registered medical marijuana patients must follow state rules on purchase and possession, but registration does not change the DUI standard. Just as a valid prescription is not a defense when normal faculties are impaired, a patient can be charged if the evidence suggests impairment. The case then turns on whether impairment at the time of driving can actually be shown.

A DRE is an officer trained in a 12 step evaluation used when drug impairment is suspected. The evaluation leads to the officer's opinion about whether the driver was impaired and by what kind of substance. Because it is an opinion built from a series of observations, each step can be reviewed for how it was performed and documented, and compared with the video and lab results.

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