DUI and Marijuana in West Chester, PA & Philadelphia Area

Neither the acronym “DUID” nor the term “drugged driving” are specifically written into Pennsylvania state law, but DUID has emerged as a derivative of the DUI law. A DUID charge may be for any controlled substance, including marijuana.

Title 75, Section 3802(d) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes declares that a person is guilty of DUI if he or she drives with any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance in his or her blood, or with a metabolite of a Schedule I substance in his or her blood. By law, driving with a controlled substance automatically enhances the penalties of a lower-level DUI.

A person may also be guilty of DUI if he or she is “under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs to a degree which impairs (his or her) ability to safely drive.”

(This part of the law allows the opinion of the police to be a factor in an arrest even if no other evidence is gathered and regardless of whether a suspect is in possession of marijuana or any marijuana was found at the scene of an arrest. Marijuana possession laws may also be applicable if marijuana is physically present.)

In addition, a person is guilty of DUI if “under the combined influence of alcohol and a drug or combination of drugs to a degree which impairs the individual’s ability to safely drive.”

Metabolites are produced by human metabolism (chemical processes within the body) and may be present in urine. Marijuana metabolizes more slowly than many other drugs, so urine may contain marijuana metabolites days or weeks after the last time marijuana was ingested. Thus, a driver may be charged with DUID even when his or her last contact with marijuana was days or weeks in the past, long after any impairment, if any.

In 2011, Pennsylvania lowered the legal threshold level of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) by five times, from five nanograms per milliliter to one nanogram per milliliter (1ng/ml). Any concentration higher than 1ng/ml is a “per se” violation of the statute, which often results in a charge of DUID.

The Latin term “per se” means “by or in itself.” The same legal principle that allows prosecutors to introduce blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) levels into evidence in an effort to prove impairment in a DUI case allows them to introduce THC levels or the existence of detectable marijuana metabolites in an effort to prove impairment in a DUI with marijuana or DUID case.

Pennsylvania’s per se law presumes a driver is impaired if found to have any measurable amount of a controlled substance in his or her body (.1ng/ml or higher for marijuana).

Under Pennsylvania’s implied consent law, a person who is granted the privilege to drive agrees to chemical testing of the breath, blood or urine if the police suspect him or her to be under the influence of alcohol or some other intoxicant, including marijuana.

If a driver is arrested for a DUI with marijuana and consents to a drug test, his or her urine or blood will be tested for the presence of drugs. Refusal of a test usually results in a driver’s license suspension and may further result in enhanced legal and administrative penalties.

Blood tests are rarer than urine tests, but tend to be more accurate. However, no drug or alcohol test is inherently valid. An experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to find flaws in the testing equipment or mistakes made in the administration of the test.

Law enforcement in the Philadelphia area may also call a “drug recognition expert” to the scene of an arrest in an attempt to determine if a driver is impaired due to marijuana or other drugs.

If a Schedule I controlled substance such as marijuana is involved in a DUI case, it effectively may become a DUID case. A Pennsylvania DUID conviction imposes the same penalties as a DUI conviction with the highest rate of alcohol, even for a first offense, because a conviction for driving with a Schedule I, II, or III controlled substance automatically enhances the penalties.

Under Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 75, Section 3804, penalties for a first DUID conviction include:

• Imprisonment for at least 72 hours
• A fine of $1,000 to $5,000
• Attendance at an approved alcohol highway safety school
• Compliance with all drug and alcohol treatment requirements that may be imposed

Penalties for a second DUID conviction include:

• Imprisonment of at least 90 days
• A fine of at least $1,500
• Attendance at an approved alcohol highway safety school
• Compliance with all drug and alcohol treatment requirements that may be imposed

Penalties for a third DUID conviction include:

• Imprisonment for at least a year
• A fine of at least $2,500
• Compliance with all drug and alcohol treatment requirements that may be imposed

Only the penalties that may be imposed by a court are listed above. DUI and DUID convictions usually are also accompanied by administrative fines and penalties, including the suspension of a driver’s license, probation, and community service, among others.

If you have been arrested for DUID, drugged driving, DUI with marijuana, or marijuana DUI in West Chester, the Philadelphia area, or anywhere in Pennsylvania, you may face serious consequences that could restrict your legal ability to drive, your freedom, and your future. It is important that you consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney to discuss your case right away.