Georgia DUID – Driving Under the Influence of Drugs

While most people think of driving under the influence as strictly related to alcohol, many are charged with driving under the influence of drugs. The state of Georgia is concerned with any substance that may impair your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. This may include illegal drugs, such as cocaine, heroin or methamphetamines, or prescription drugs, such as Valium, which affects the central nervous system.

When a police officer has probable cause to begin a DUI drug investigation, they should follow a 12-step process. This process is a program supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unfortunately, not all police officers are trained on this 12-step process, and the ones that are may not follow all of the steps. Even if all police officers were trained and effectively utilized the processes in the drug recognition program, this method has not yet proved to be scientifically accurate.

If you or someone you know has recently been arrested in Georgia for DUI involving drugs, immediately contact The Law Office of Larry Kohn. This is a complex area of law, and the prosecution will be quick to parade their “expert” witnesses in to testify against you. These witnesses are typically state employees of a forensics crime lab; they are not pharmacologists who are trained for years on how drugs affect the human body.

It is very important to have a pharmacologist testify because he or she can refute the “expert” claims often presented by state crime lab chemists with no doctorate degree in pharmacology or toxicology. When you compare the two on the stand, the jury usually sees through the dishonesty of the prosecution’s witnesses.

It is also interesting to note that most crime lab experts have received more training on how to testify than on the subject matter. This is why it is imperative to hire an experienced DUI defense attorney, like The Law Office of Larry Kohn. Having expert witnesses to testify on the side of the defense is worth its weight in gold. With the right attorney, you’ll be investing in your future. The last thing you want on your record is a DUI conviction, so contact us today.