The public perception of marijuana is changing as it becomes viewed as more acceptable and mainstream. Marijuana is legal in some states, but it is not legal in Florida. Marijuana is legal in the state of Florida with a prescription. With this legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, there are more and more people legally carrying and using marijuana. However, even if you carry and use marijuana legally, you can still be arrested for DUI. A Jupiter marijuana DUI lawyer could help you handle any charges.
Yes, you can be arrested for a DUI for using marijuana. You can even be arrested for a DUI using marijuana if you have a valid prescription for marijuana. The way that the DUI statute is written, a person can be arrested for DUI if they are under the influence of alcohol or of a controlled substance. Marijuana is a controlled substance under Florida law. As such, if you are found to be under the influence of marijuana then you can be arrested for a DUI.
For a DUI using marijuana, there is no difference under the law for when you have a prescription for marijuana compared to if you use it illegally. However, it is mitigating if you have a prescription for marijuana compared to if you used it illegally. An attorney in Jupiter could apply their knowledge of marijuana and DUI laws to a defense.
Yes, but marijuana affects everybody differently and varies from person to person. The more frequently a person uses marijuana, the more tolerant they become to the drug and the less impaired they become by it. When determining impairment for a DUI, the law states a person must be under the influence of marijuana to the extent their normal faculties are impaired. This means your ability to walk, talk, judge distances, and drive a car. These normal faculties are tested by the field sobriety exercises. A Jupiter lawyer could determine the validity of a field sobriety test in a marijuana DUI case.
No, marijuana cannot be detected with a breath test. When you blow for a breath test, the breath test only analyzes for alcohol. It does not test for any drugs. The police would need to request a blood or urine sample to be tested for drugs.
The police will only know that you smoked marijuana in one of three ways. If you admitted to smoking marijuana, if you tested positive in a urine test, or if you tested positive in a blood test. Even if you test positive for marijuana, it does not show when you last consumed marijuana. Urine tests can only determine whether you have ingested marijuana from a certain time period, but they do not quantify marijuana. In other words, urine tests cannot show how much marijuana you have consumed. An attorney in Jupiter could develop a defense that shows when you consumed marijuana.
As mentioned above, those are the only three ways by which the police will know if you smoked marijuana. If the police only suspect you smoked marijuana, they can potentially arrest you for DUI, but it will be very difficult for them successfully prosecute you with a skilled marijuana DUI lawyer in Jupiter. If you refuse to give a blood or urine sample, you can still be arrested for a DUI. However, as just discussed, with a defense lawyer, it will be difficult for the state to successfully prosecute the case.
Yes. This is one of the most common scenarios where a person is arrested for a DUI. You can be arrested for a DUI even if your provide a breath sample of less than the legal limit of .08 if you have used marijuana. In situations such as this, the prosecutors will use a toxicologist to testify that the use of alcohol and marijuana together can exponentially enhance the impairing effects of the drugs if they were used separately. This is where an experienced DUI lawyer can attack the toxicologist’s testimony. A toxicologist will have to admit that these substances effect everybody differently. Furthermore, a skilled DUI lawyer will make certain the toxicologist does not testify that a person is under the influence of these substances because that is an ultimate issue for a jury to decide, not a witness.
At Keller, Melchiorre & Walsh, we have seasoned Jupiter marijuana DUI lawyers that are very familiar with DUIs and DUI marijuana cases. As former prosecutors, they have handled thousands of DUI cases. Call today to discuss a defense for your case.
