Drug DWI Attorney, Frisco, TX, Collin, Denton County

Aggressive Drug DWI Criminal Defense in Collin, Denton County, Texas

In addition to being illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol, driving under the influence of any drug, whether legally prescribed or illegally obtained, is a violation of the DWI legislation. According to Section 49.01 of the Texas Penal Code, being “intoxicated” means that a person does not have the normal use of their mental or physical faculties as a result of the consumption of alcohol, a controlled substance, a prescription drug, a illegal drug, a combination of two or more of these substances, or any other substance. This definition applies to anyone who is under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, or any other substance.

In the event that you have been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, it is imperative that you get in touch with an experienced DWI Attorney skilled and tested in defending cases involving Drug DWI in Collin, Dallas, Denton and surrounding counties, as soon as you possibly can. Doing so will protect you from major legal penalties.

The Typical Misconception about DWI Relating only to Alcohol

The majority of individuals are under the impression that they cannot be arrested or found guilty of DWI on prescription medicines if they have a valid prescription for the medication they are using. When it comes to the laws regarding DWI in Texas, that is a widespread misconception. Intoxication can be caused by taking controlled substances, prescription medicine, medication purchased over the counter (i.e. Tylenol PM), or illicit narcotics in Collin & Denton County Texas in the same way that it can be caused by drinking alcohol. Because of the lack of standardized training in this area, law enforcement personnel are unable to differentiate between impairment caused by a medical condition and impairment caused by medicine. This is a gray area. A therapeutic dose level that treats a medical issue is very different from impairment caused by medicines. This difference might be rather significant.  Unfortunately, Officers do not have the educational background or the professional medical expertise necessary to make this assessment.

However, police officers make this assessment on a daily basis using a method that is unreliable and has not been demonstrated to be effective. This method is known as a 12-step D.R.E. (which stands for “drug recognition expert”) process. This is a tool for the police that was developed and constructed by officers of the law, not by medical professionals or scientists. Studies that purport to be scientific have shown that it is unreliable and leads to the wrong person being arrested more than half of the time.  In contrast to the situation with alcohol, the concentration level of narcotics that is considered prohibited in Texas does not have a specific threshold value. This is due to the fact that drugs have a broad range of effects on people, more so than alcohol does, and the scientific community has not had many opportunities to routinely identify harmful amounts of all drugs due to the fact that the effects are so varied.

With almost all prescriptions, there is a label that is attached to the side of the prescription container which provides the individual who has been prescribed the drug with an explanation of the potential adverse consequences of taking the medicine, and the police officers rely on this label.  Headaches, tiredness, dizziness, and drowsiness are some of the possible adverse effects of this medication. If a therapeutic amount is not administered, several adverse effects may impair a person’s ability to drive a car or operate other types of machinery safely. It is a difficult judgment for a police officer to have to make since they must be able to assess when a side effect inhibits one’s capacity to the point where they should not be driving a vehicle. If you drive while taking any kind of medication—prescription or over-the-counter—you put yourself at danger of being arrested for driving while under the influence of drugs, and this is true regardless of how well you know your own driving abilities.

Which Substances Are Banned and Why?

If a person operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of any drug or substance that impairs their ability to drive, they might be charged with driving under the influence of drugs, which is typically a Class B Misdemeanor criminal offense for the 1st DWI but it can be enhanced for subsequent DWIs.

If you have been under the influence of medicines that might induce side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, sleepiness, or impaired motor abilities, officers tend to believe that you should not operate a motor vehicle and will use this as a reason to claim your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired and they will arrest you for a DWI.

Because there is no established protocol for blood testing in the state of Texas, proving impairment due to drugs is far more challenging than proving drunkenness due to alcohol, which can be determined by a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The determination of whether or not a motorist is intoxicated is left up to the discretion of the arresting officer and the prosecution, and is made on a case-by-case basis.  This can be both good and bad. It is bad of course because it allows for unnecessary arrests, criminal charges, and financial penalties that are most likely not justified.  It’s good in the sense that unlike alcohol if you have a BAC of .08 or greater you are guilty as a matter of law, but since there isn’t an exact testing number for drugs, there is still the chance to show that you weren’t impaired if all the other evidence such as the field sobriety tests and video evidence looks favorable.

However, these becomes harder to make the argument that you weren’t impaired if the drugs you are using are not prescription drugs but instead are drugs that are illegal or drugs that you never had a valid prescription.  If you are impaired by any form of drug or combination of drugs, including but not limited to: marijuana, heroin, xanax, Vicodin, OxyContin, Ambien, PCP, cocaine, methamphetamines, or ecstasy, you run the risk of being arrested for driving while under the influence of drugs.

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS & TEXAS DWI LAW

According to the laws of the state of Texas, and enforced harshly in Collin & Denton County, a person is considered to be “intoxicated” when they do not have “the normal use of mental or physical faculties as a result of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body.” This condition can be caused by the consumption of alcohol, a drug, a dangerous drug, a drug, a combination of two or more of those According to the clear text of the Act, prescription pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medications both fit perfectly into this group. In other words, this is the category where they belong. However, these medications are permissible and essential in order to treat a patient’s ailment or address another aspect of their bad health. In contrast to alcohol consumption, which is legal for people aged 21 and older as long as they are not driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08% or higher, there is no limit on the permissible level of drug intoxication in the state of Texas, or anywhere else in the country for that matter. This is true for both legal and illegal drugs. Even if the cause of your Intoxication (drunkenness ) in Collin & Denton county is medication that was prescribed to you, a police officer still has the exclusive authority to interrogate you, request that you do field sobriety tests, and come to the conclusion that you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and as such, arrest you.

A DWI drug conviction for prescription medicine carries the same level of sentence as a DWI conviction for alcohol. If you are arrested for driving while under the influence of drugs and it is your first DWI offense, the charge against you is considered a Class B misdemeanor. If you are arrested for driving while under the influence of drugs and it is your second DWI violation, the penalty against you is a Class A misdemeanor. If you are charged with a repeat violation for driving while intoxicated, you put yourself at risk of facing felony charges, which include a sentence in prison that must be a least of two years and can go up to 10 years. Driving while under the influence of a medically necessary medicine is now subject to stricter penalties. If a person admits to taking their medicine, even though they are not impaired, this increases the likelihood that they may be wrongfully detained for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

If you have been arrested in areas such as Frisco, Texas or anywhere within Collin, Denton and surrounding North Texas Counties, contact an experienced Drug DWI lawyer to immediately fight to challenge your Driver’s License Suspension in an ALR Hearing and to learn about how the DWI Lawyers at Ridgely Davis Law can begin defending your case.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG DWI & BURDEN OF PROOF IN Collin & Denton County TEXAS

The sole requirement for a charge to be brought against you is for the officer to have information that you have ingested a prescribed medicine, that’s it.  Before making an arrest and filing DWI charges against you, a police officer will often take into consideration a number of different criteria. These factors are as follows:

• If you admit that you took medicine, the officer will want to know what kind of medication it was, how much of it you took, and how long ago it was that you took it. Oxycontin, Ambien, Xanax, Vicodin, and Valium are some of the medications that have garnered an increased amount of attention.
• The officer will evaluate the seriousness of the cause that led to the traffic stop and determine whether or not it justifies pulling you over. For example, running a stop sign or not signaling
• Your behavior during the traffic stop will be taken into consideration by the officer. Are you cordial or rude? Are you wide awake or do you feel sleepy?
• Any information that you supply, whether voluntarily or in response to an inquiry, will be taken into consideration by the officer.

If the police in Frisco, Texas or the surrounding areas decides to make an arrest and charge you with driving while under the influence of narcotics, you will most likely be required to give a blood sample. If you refuse, two things will happen as a result: (1) you could be subject to additional penalties, including the suspension of your driver’s license; and (2) the police will request a warrant, and once they have it, they will take a blood sample from you. If you refuse, both of these things will happen.

In the event that you are charged with a crime, the prosecution will try to establish that you are guilty by demonstrating that the intoxication was brought on by the prescribed medications that prevented you from having normal control over your physical or mental faculties. The prosecution has the burden of proving that you were actually impaired in order to convict you of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. It is not enough for them to simply prove that the drug was present in your system; they must also show that you were driving while under the influence of the drug.  This is where other evidence such as the arresting video come into play which is what your Frisco DWI Lawyer at Ridgely Davis Law will closely analyze to build the defenses in your Collin or Denton County Case.

Because the consequences for a DWI are so high, especially if this is not your first DWI, when you get a new prescription, check with your doctor to see if there are any known drug interactions that might impair your ability to drive and make sure they are aware of all the prescriptions you are already taking.  Discuss the potential adverse effects of any drug recommended to you with your attending physician or the pharmacist. You need to have a full understanding of the potential negative consequences before you get behind the wheel of a car.

DWI Defenses That Can Be Used for Prescription Drugs in the State of Texas

If you are charged with driving under the influence of drugs, the fact that your physician prescribed the medication that caused you to be impaired is not a valid defense. But keep in mind that you are not required to disclose the fact that you are taking medicine to the officer who pulls you over in the event that you are stopped. If you don’t provide this information, the breathalyzer test you take will most likely return a negative result as long as you weren’t drinking before the test. This is the case regardless of whether or not you have been drinking.

If you told the officer that you take medicine and were later detained and charged with a crime, you have a defense available to you if you are aware that the prescription does not affect your ability to drive safely. Some drugs can have varying responses in various persons, depending on who takes them. Your best defense will be to show that the drug does not affect your ability to drive in any way, even if it does cause a reaction in you.  Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with the DWI Lawyers at Ridgely Davis Law in Frisco, Texas to learn more about how we can defend your Collin and Denton County case.

DWI PRESCRIPTION DRUG LAWYER IN FRISCO, TEXAS

When you believe you haven’t done anything wrong, being arrested for driving under the influence of prescription medicine may be a terrible experience. This is especially true if you were driving. At Ridgely Davis Law Firm, we focus all of our expertise and resources on defending clients accused of driving while intoxicated. We have decades of experience that has been demonstrated, as well as a reputation that has been gained in the courtroom for producing effective results.

Texas’ legal consequences for driving under the influence of drugs

When someone is found guilty of driving under the influence of drugs in Texas, the penalties they face might change based on the number of prior convictions they have and whether or not the driver’s drunkenness caused the damage or death of another person.

Driving under the influence of drugs is punishable in Texas with the following:

• For a first offense, you might face up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, mandatory minimum jail time of 72 hours, and a suspension of your driver’s license for up to a year.

• For a second violation, you face up to one year in prison, penalties of up to $4,000, and a possible suspension of your driver’s license for two years.

• For a third offense, you face between two and ten years in jail, a fine of up to ten thousand dollars, and a probable suspension of your driver’s license for two years.

Community service, obligatory drug treatment, attendance at a DWI school, charges incurred by the court, and a criminal record are all possible additional punishments. These are just the penalties you can face in the criminal arena, but if you have children or our married, it is not uncommon for alcohol or drug related offenses to impact your marriage by divorce or relationship with your children in a family law Child Custody Case or a Modification to Custody Lawsuit.  If you are facing allegations of a Drug DWI in Frisco, TX, Collin | Denton County our experienced Drug DWI Attorneys at Ridgely Davis Law will assist you in evaluating your defense alternatives and developing a custom-tailored plan that will reduce the likelihood that you will be required to serve the penalties associated with a conviction.

On Your Side, Decades of Professionalism and Experience

A criminal conviction for a Drug DWI offense or any DWI offense for that matter, can have major immediate repercussions, but it can also leave long-lasting scars on your reputation and limit the kinds of jobs you’ll be able to get in the future. This is because of the seriousness that the local prosecutors in Collin & Denton County place on this type of crime. It is of the utmost importance that you commit your case to an influential DWI Defense Lawyer in Frisco, Texas, who is able to offer you with the objective and aggressive counsel you require.

The DWI Defense Lawyers at Ridgely Davis Law, in Frisco Texas serving Collin and Denton County, have years of knowledge and access to the most up-to-date legal resources. With his assistance, you will be able to level the playing field against the accusations made by the opposition, and you will be given a fighting chance. It is not in your best interest to leave your future up to chance. Schedule your Free Case Evaluation to speak with our experienced Frisco Drug DWI Lawyers to see that your case is handled properly.