Does a marijuana DUI have the same impact as a regular DUI? 70 Answers as of February 22, 2012

The penalties are the same for OUID as they are for OWI. License sanctions are 6 months, with the first month no license, followed by 5 months restricted. If possible, your attorney will explore getting the charge reduced to impaired driving, where the license sanctions are less. I hope that this was helpful.

The same penalties apply to DUI Alcohol, DUI Cannabis and DUI Drugs. However, DUI Cannabis is very dependable if there is no blood or urine test.

The results of a DUI are the same whether the impairment was by alcohol or drugs.

No, it's the same, however a Mj. case can be defended much more successfully than an alchohol case. It is advisable for your brother to consult with an experienced lawyer.

It is the same it would be a 23152(a). He should hire an attorney to fight these charges.

Basically yes, but it is slightly different.

No, same type of consequence.

It's under a different subsection of the penal law but essentially comes with the same possible ramifications of license suspension or revocation and the possibility if a criminal record.

In Texas the State must prove for a Driving while intoxicated case that the person driving lost his normal use of his mental and/or physical faculties by the introduction of alcohol, drugs or a combination of either. Therefore, it does not change the punishment if marijuana is involved.

The charge is Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated. It is the same for both alcohol and any controlled substance. In the case of a controlled substance, such as marijuana, the mere presence in a person's system is sufficient for conviction.

In court it would have the same effect and penalities. The only difference is he would not be subject to an administrative suspension of his license.

Substantially the same penalties.

The potential penalties are the same. What may be different is the method of proof. Most courts require the testifying officer to be a "drug recognition expert" (DRE). If the arresting officer is not, there can be an added defense to such a charge.

The penalties are the same, but the license suspension is different. For a first DUI, over 21 driver, an alcohol DUI gets you a 120 day license suspension with a work permit. A marijuana DUI gets you a 6 month suspension with no work permit. This is assuming that there was no administrative license suspension, which can be different than both suspensions above.

Yes, there is very little difference between a marijuana OVI and an alcohol OVI.

He is being charged under the same statute as if he was driving under the influence of alcohol with the same penalties. However, the statute provides for a zero tolerance when drugs are involved.

A DUI is a DUI. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is covered by the same law with the same punishment. The big difference is that a marijuana DUI can be very difficult for the prosecution to prove. There is no magic number like an alcohol DUI 0.08% they can point to as a "legal limit". Your brother needs a lawyer, though.

Number one: do not talk to the police. Politely say that you have nothing to say and that you want a lawyer if you are suspected, or being accused, of a crime. Your brother did not know any better, I am sure, but he blew it badly when he admitted smoking earlier that day. Number two: Never, ever, ever agree to the Field Sobriety Tests. Ever. You must provide a breath or blood sample pursuant to California Law ('Implied Consent'), so do so. The cop, despite whatever lie he told you (and he is legally allowed to lie to you), was going to arrest you and impound your car anyway, if he thought that you were driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That said, I have never, and will never, plead any client to a DUI for marijuana. Lastly, no, his marijuana DUI will not be worse than an alcohol DUI. It will count the same on his criminal and DMV records. The difference is that the DMV might... I said "might", not suspendhis license for a marijuana DUI. Fight all of it, all the way. I might not even take a 'reckless driving' (CVC 23103, not CVC 23103.5!) in this case, but that would be the very most I would consider.

It carries the same penalties.

There is no difference between the two. It is the same statute; however, a particular judge may tend to sentence one more harshly than the other, depending on their personal views.

Alcohol and drug DUIs are treated the same - there is nothing that distinguishes the two. That said, MJ DUIs are much more defensible as, unlike with alcohol, there is no bright line cut-off for the permissible amount in your blood. If the defendant is a habitual user then an argument can be made that the amount of THC in the blood was not enough for him to be under the influence.

Your brother needs to hire the best defense lawyer he can afford. There is no way that he should take a conviction for this charge. If he does there will be serious negative consequences that will last for the rest of his life. I have handled many of these cases and I might be able to offer my services. Your brother should feel free to contact me, but in any event, he should hire an attorney.

It will have the same effect as a DUI/alcohol. The penalties and implications to your driving privileges are identical, and if this is a first-time offense, counseling in drugs, as opposed to alcohol, will be a condition of the probationary sentence.

DUI is short for driving under the influence. It is not limited to alcohol, but incudes drugs both legal and illegal ones. It will be treated in court the same as an alcohol DUI. The penalties will be based upon the degree of impairment.

Yes. The statute requires a blood presence for substances other than alcohol which put you under their influence alone or in combination with others and/or alcohol. The prosecution may have a more difficult prosecution but the penalties are the same.

Yes. Driving Under the Influence (DUI) means alcohol and/or drugs.

Yes it does. Contact an expert attorney immediately.

Yes, they are the same penalties. If he is serious about hiring counsel to help fight or deal with this, have him contact me. Keep in mind a little free advice: When arrested for DUI, whether alcohol or drugs, then upon release from jail or booking the defendant is given documents that include a notice that you have only ten days to file a request with DMV for a hearing on an appeal of an automatic one-year suspension of your license imposed by DMV. That is separate and runs consecutively with any suspension that may be imposed by the court. Contact DMV and do so, timely, then appear at your scheduled DMV appeal hearing and present any supporting evidence and testimony. If you don't know how to do these things, then hire an attorney that does. If serious about hiring counsel to help in this, and if this is in SoCal courts, feel free to contact me.

Is this a DUI or a DWI? No, I'm not just being particular, they are 2 different offenses in Texas, and different things are required to prove each, in a way that would affect his case quite a bit. If your brother's under 21, he probably, but not necessarily, got a DUI, which is only a Class C misdemeanor instead of a Class B (much better to have) and only requires proof of ingestion of any intoxicating substance, combined with driving: intoxication is not required to prove a DUI. People under 21 can get DWIs also, some of that depends on the officer and some on how bad off they actually were. A DWI, on the other hand, requires intoxication plus driving. A marijuana-based DWI is actually kind of hard to prove, unless they were driving really badly, because reactions to marijuana vary, and there's no breath test to use. If this was a DUI, on the other hand, and he admitted smoking marijuana and then driving, well, there you go. It's not a sure thing, but the smell of weed in the car combined with that admission and the fact that he was driving may be all they really need, since they wouldn't need to prove intoxication.

Assuming that he is convicted, the penalties are the same.

The 2 are the same. DUI is driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or intoxicants. A breath test is only one prong of the DUI. The person has a breath test of .08 or above OR their driving has been affected to an appreciable degree. Certainly the use of drugs (in this case weed) can affect a person's driving to an appreciable degree. This is what the police and prosecutor will be looking at. The penalties are the same.

No, the consequences are the same if he pleads guilty. But realize that MJ DUI is much more defensible than an alcohol DUI, because MJ concentration is very hard to prove. So he should definitely not just go to court by himself and plead guilty. Consult a DUI specialist.

August 10, 2011 There is no difference in the penalities for driving under the influnece of alcohol or drugs, if convicted.

Unlikely, although the state has a harder time proving marijuana DUIIs, and the evidence you cite isn't really sufficient. He should talk to a lawyer about taking the case to trial.

The impact will be no greater. It is the same charge under the same statute. However, your brother should absolutely speak with an attorney before going any further in the court process. OUI drugs, especially for marijuana is very hard for the state to prove. I would have to hear the full details of the facts before I could say with any certainty, but I would bet that your brother has a very triable case (one that has a good chance of winning at trial). If he doesn't already have an attorney, I would be happy to speak with him. You can pass along my information if you care to.

The penalties are the same, but a drug DUI are often more difficult to prove. He should definitely get an attorney. He may very likely avoid a conviction.

Generally, it holds the same consequence. A Driving Under the Influence charge can be for drugs and/ or alcohol. In my opinion, marijuana DUIs are easier to fight than alcohol related charges because the statute does not define what amount of marijuana effects your driving to the point in which you are incapacitated. I think you're more likely to get a wet reckless plea rather than a DUI conviction which is a good deal. Hire an attorney instead of pleading guilty to the misdemeanor complaint.

The state will need to prove that your brother was driving under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of driving. In in order to do so they will need to have a drug recognition expert testify at trial. It is not a crime to drive after having consumed a controlled substance. The prohibition is against driving while under the influence of a controlled substance to the extent that the drug affected his ability to drive the car safely. A DWI can be charged out for driving under the influence of a controlled substance or driving under the influence of alcohol. It's the same severity level. A misdemeanor can be charged for a first time offense no matter if it's alcohol or marijuana. As a criminal defense lawyer, I would want to know if the officer was trained as a drug recognition expert. The proper testing is necessary to determine if the person's ability to drive was affected by the drug. The testing required for marijuana is different from the testing in an alcohol case. Also, did the officer require your brother to submit to blood test to determine if there was marijuana in his system? And, does the driving conduct support an inference that the controlled substances affected his ability to safely operate the car? This type of evidence of driving conduct evidence could include speeding, weaving in the lane, wide turn, etc. Sounds like the case needs to be investigated for possible defenses.

Same kind of crime. Ouid is the charge.

In fact it is a little less bc there is no immediate DMV consequence based on level - only DMV consequence if conviction Mostly they are treated exactly the same There is inexact science on the meaning of test results meaning that these cases can be won if the atty knows the stuff

A DUI charge for drugs does not carry an enhanced penalty.

A MJ DUI is very tough for the DA to prove, I would suggest he contact a good defense lawyer. If however he is convicted it will have the same impact as a regular DUI regarding the criminal case.

They have the same impact only frankly, a marijuana DWI would be much harder for the State to prove. (It is DWI, not DUI, in Texas.) He should hire a lawyer & really consider fighting the case.

It typically doesn't. However, there are significant defenses to a DUI with mj versus alcohol. You definitely retain an attorney.

It will have the same impact as alcohol DUI, as the law is concerned with driving impairment, no matter the substance cause.

No, it will be the same charge but harder to prove the link between marijuana and impairment.

Had a phone chat wit her.

For the most part, yes

Generally speaking, no. He would be charged with a VC 23152(a), driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. If someone gets an alcohol only DUI, they would have this charge as well. I can be reached through 1duilawyer.com if you would like to discuss further. These are usually good cases to fight as marijuana related DUI's are generally tougher to prove by the prosecutor than alcohol related offenses. Also, if there is no alcohol involved, should be a set aside from any DMV action.

The dwi laws and penalties are the same. However, it is very hard for state to prove a dwi under drugs, a good dwi lawyer should be able to prevail. I would be happy to discuss case with you brother.

It really depends on several factors one of them being does he have a medical marijuana card.

DUI is DUI. In fact, in some instances the drug DUI is better for the defendant. With a drug DUI there is no breathalyzer test, so there is usually no automatic license suspension. Additionally, there is no "per se" prong, rather, the prosecutor MUST prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's driving was affected by the drug use. Contact an experienced DUI attorney so you can discuss your individual case in a safe and confidential manner.

Yes. A DUI is a DUI.

essentially yes.

No, but he may have additional defenses. See a DUI attorney ASAP

Same.

The penalty, if he is found guilty, will likely be the same regardless of the substance. However, from a driving standpoint, his license will be suspended for longer with a drugs DUI.

Most likely. The DMV will take action to suspend your license because you were under the influence of a drug. Vehicle Code 23125(a) states that you can't operate a motor vehicle if you are under the influence of a drug or alcohol. However, the Court imposed punishments may be different such as not requiring alcohol classes (AA).