As a DUI Attorney in Miami the office of Ramon de la Cabada advises clients to seek legal help as soon as the DUI arrest happens. Some tests used to determine the presence of drugs in the system of the driver may give a false positive. This result can be used as evidence if not handled expediently.

As more and more states move towards the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, it is important that our legislatures use precise language in creating new laws on these issues so that a term as general as drug “metabolite” is defined to include only those that can be proven to be linked to impairment.

After being stopped on a DUI, it is imperative to talk to a DUI Attorney in Miami. Ramon de la Cabada, P.A., will advise you with the latest legal information on cases of suspicion of drug use.

Was the driver impaired? Drug Detection

A metabolite is a byproduct of ingestion and breakdown of a substance such as cocaine, marijuana, PCP and many types of medication. A drug metabolite can be detected in urine or blood with a lab test. Metabolites such as THC, a product of marijuana, cannot be detected with a breathalyzer. And even in cases of a lab test, the simple fact that THC was present in the system doesn’t prove that the driver was impaired.

Several drugs can metabolize into THC. The specific substance that is considered detrimental to driver’s reflexes is hydroxy-THC. However, hydroxy-THC can only be found in the system for a few hours, after that it metabolizes into carboxy-THC. The carboxy-THC can be the result of the breakdown of several drugs, many of them legal. The mere fact that THC is found in the blood of a driver should not set grounds for arrest.

Precedent Case in Arizona

In the case of Montgomery v. Harris, the Arizona Supreme Court established that the presence of non-impairing metabolites like Carboxy-THC found in a person’s blood, alone, does not provide a basis for a DUI arrest. Carboxy-THC is a drug compound of Marijuana that does not cause impairment and can be found in a person’s bloodstream for 3-4 weeks after marijuana use. It should not be confused with THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol which has been shown to cause impairment. Unlike THC, the presence of Carboxy-THC in the blood stream is not necessarily indicative of immediate use or impairment.

Your DUI Attorney in Miami

Basing a DUI on the presence of an inactive or non-impairing compound without any other evidence of impairment, could lead to errant arrests and various miscarries of justice. At the Office of Law of Ramon de la Cabada, we competently advise our clients to fight for their rights. With a solid knowledge of the law, our DUI Attorney in Miami and his associates will dedicate to your case.