Drug Drive Cases

From a Defence perspective, such cases typically involve various issues relating to individuals who face charges in relation to driving whilst unfit through drugs

With the exception of offering the facility of analysing blood and urine samples in respect of their alcohol and / or drug content, Forensic Excellence provide a complete service that deals with all other aspects of drug drive matters.

In cases involving allegations of driving whilst unfit through drugs,the Prosecuting authority (CPS or Procurator Fiscal) almost invariably have to rely on a combination of the observations of appropriate witnesses such as Police Officers and Doctors and, the scientific findings from the analyses of a blood / urine sample taken from the suspect.

The primary reason for the requirement of the above combination is that unlike drink-drive allegations where there is a legal limit above which a Prosecution and ban from driving is almost invariable (except in special reasons cases such as claims of post driving alcohol consumption or laced drinks), no such limits exist for blood drug levels, with the notable exception of the 17 x controlled drugs that became subject to specific maximum blood drug levels in March 2015.

In the absence of any legal limit therefore, the detection of drugs and / or their metabolites in a blood sample is, on its own, insufficient to solely infer that the individual was unfit to drive through drugs.

There are several reasons for the foregoing including the fact that regular users of a particular drug can develop a considerable tolerance to the effects of the drug to the extent that more of the drug has to be taken to achieve the desired effects.

Accordingly, a particular blood drug level in one person may considerably impair their driving skills, whereas the same blood drug level in another person (who has developed a tolerance to the drug) may not result in any impairment of driving skills whatsoever.

Therefore, a series of impairment tests are normally carried either by a Police Officer or a Doctor who examines the individual at a Police Station and it is the results of these tests that are used in combination with analyses of the blood / urine sample.

Our experts can undertake a thorough review of the Prosecution evidence in such cases including the blood / urine analytical results and the impairment tests, and prepare a report providing expert comment and opinion on our findings