If you are under the influence of a controlled substance when you are driving, you may be charged under 75 Pa.C.S.A. Section 3802(d). This section of the statute is supposed to deal with "driving while high" although a lot of other conduct may be swept up by the statute:

• Prescription drugs
• Illegal drugs (cocaine, marijuana, heroin, etc.)
  
• Metabolites of either prescription or illegal drugs

The difficulty with the statute is the part where a "metabolite" of a controlled substance may subject a driver to a conviction under 3802(d) of the DUI statute. If a metabolite is found in your blood, you are "per se" assumed to be incapable of safe driving, and a DUI charge may be filed against you. An example may be helpful here:

If you used cocaine, for instance, about a week before you get pulled over for a DUI, and you get blood tested (perhaps you were speeding, got pulled over and the officer smells the glass of wine you had with dinner and so the officer takes you in for chemical testing), a "metabolite" of cocaine may still be in your system.

If the chemical test picks up a metabolite of the cocaine, you may be charged with DUI as a result. This may be the case even if it has been a week since you actually used drugs and even though you are not actually "high." The DUI charge may stick even though the drug use a week ago is not affecting your driving at the time of the charge. With marijuana, the time the drug lingers in your blood stream is even longer, so the result can be even more unfair.

In any case, there is significant issues in DUI cases where drugs are involved, and you should probably talk to an attorney about them.

The penalties are the same as a third tier DUI offense, and they are listed here.

To discuss what your options are for a DUI-Controlled Substance case, you should call attorney Joseph N. Gothie, Esq., at (717) 848-8455 to set up a free, confidential, no-risk consultation to discuss your case, possible sentences, possible defenses, and other DUI issues.

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