Drugged Driving In New Jersey: From Marijuana To Prescription Medications

With the legalization of Marijuana in New Jersey, it is a good time to review the current state of drug-impaired Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) laws and procedures. Knowing the differences and procedures between different DWI scenarios might, after all, make all the difference in your defense. This article covers:

• The kinds of drug-related DWI charges are being seen in New Jersey under the new laws.
• How Drug-related DWI cases and alcohol-related DWI cases differ and interact.
• How prescription drugs impact DWI claims and interact with other substances.

What’s New With Drug-Related DWI Cases In New Jersey?

In New Jersey, marijuana is now legal to possess and consume if you are 21 years or older. While there has been a mild increase in cannabis-related DWIs, most drug-related DWI charges involve other substances, from prescription medications to illegal opiates such as heroin.

We are also seeing an increase in cases where a client is alleged to be impaired due to a combination of cannabis and small amounts of alcohol. Their BAC is below the legal limit, but cannabis consumption leads the police to believe that they are impaired.

How Are Drug-Related DWI Stops Different Compared To Alcohol DWI Stops?

Police officers are all trained to look for signs of alcohol intoxication but are not necessarily trained on how to detect drug-related intoxication. For example, one of the first signs of impairment they will try to detect is the scent of alcohol. While scent can sometimes be used to detect cannabis, most other drugs do not leave perceptible environmental cues.

When an officer who has pulled you over believes that alcohol is involved, they are trained to look for specific signs of alcohol impairment to build a case. But this training (and even field sobriety tests) are meant to establish likely alcohol intoxication, not drug intoxication.

Secondly, there are no immediate breathalyzer tests for drugs as there are for alcohol. Finally, even if it is established that a drug is in your system through a blood or urine test, there is no determination in New Jersey as to how much of a given drug would render you legally intoxicated.

Attorney Kevin Leckerman is a dedicated DWI and DUI defense lawyer who has handled thousands of alcohol and drug-related impaired driving cases in New Jersey and Pennsylvania courts. Since 1998, he has helped countless drivers get the charges against them lowered or dropped and even helped shape DWI laws in New Jersey.

If you have been pulled over or arrested for drug-impaired driving in New Jersey, contact Leckerman Law, LLC. today to schedule an initial consultation.

How Do Officers Go About Detecting Drug-Related Impairment?

If police officers do not find indicators of alcohol intoxication, they may believe that you are impaired by a drug. Drug impairment can be harder to determine, however, as there could be a variety of impairment signs for many different drugs. While an officer may be trained to identify signs of impairment for specific types of drugs, not all officers will have the same training or familiarity.

As a result, many police officers approach a suspected drug-related DWI stop lacking experience with certain drugs. One officer may be aware of the signs of methamphetamine use or intoxication, while another has no such familiarity and does not know what to look for. While that officer may suspect that something is off, they lack the training and experience to know what, exactly, is wrong with the driver.

How Is The Legal Limit For Alcohol Or Drugs For Driving Impairment Determined?

While decades of studies on alcohol have led state legislatures to set blood alcohol limits to determine if a person is impaired, few such studies have been done to better and uniformly understand how the human body absorbs, processes, and reacts to drugs. As a result, there is no equivalent for a BAC limit for legal and illegal drugs.

Further complicating matters, each person has a specific tolerance for a drug that their body has grown accustomed to, leading to reduced signs of impairment with long-term use. This is especially true when it comes to prescription drugs, making it harder to determine whether or not a person is impaired by the drugs in their system.

How Do Prescription Medications Lead To DWI Cases?

When you are prescribed certain medications, you may be told not to drive after taking them, often for a specific period of time, such as a month. This is especially true if the possible side effects of this medication include drowsiness, trouble concentrating, or blurred vision. During this time, if you are caught driving and admit to having taken this medication earlier, you could be charged with a DWI.

However, not all prescription drugs will automatically lead to signs of impairment. If you have been taking this medication for a long time, your body may become used to the substance, and the impacts of the drug may no longer impair you at all. What’s more, if the prescription drug in question is used to mitigate a physical or mental health issue, being under its influence could actually make you a far safer driver.

Having said that, you could still be charged with a DWI if this otherwise helpful medication interacts negatively with other legal or illegal substances in your system.

Will I Be Responsible If Prescription Drug Interactions Cause Impairment?

In New Jersey, there is no scheduled list of legal drugs that you can not combine. It is, therefore, up to you, with advice from your doctor and/or pharmacist, to determine whether there will be side effects from mixing prescription drugs so that you avoid accidental intoxication.

If legal drug interactions do cause impairment, it is your responsibility not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. If you do drive while impaired by prescription drug interactions, you could certainly receive a DWI. A court will not accept the excuse of “I didn’t know”, as the burden is on you to understand how your medications work and how to use them safely.

Have you been arrested for drunk or drug-impaired driving in New Jersey? We can help!

For more information on drug-related DWI charges in New Jersey, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (856) 429-2323 today.