Being arrested for drug driving can be an extremely worrying and stressful experience. Rest assured, by seeking out expert advice and assistance at this stage, you’ve done the very best thing to not only allay your fears, but also to enable the building of the best possible defence later down the line should you need to do so.
What happens after an arrest for drug driving
You will have most likely been released from the police station under investigation. During this period, the police will send your blood sample to an authorised laboratory and test it for the presence of one of the specified drugs under the Section 5A drug driving legislation. This process can take a considerable period of time, typically between 2 – 5 months.
If, after 6 months, you receive no further communication from the police, then you can finally rest easy in the knowledge that the Crown are now out of time to prosecute you for a drug driving offence.
If, however, the results of the analysis show that you were over the specified limit then you will unfortunately be charged with drug driving, and will be summonsed to appear before the Court to answer the charge. If you intend on pleading guilty to the charge, then its important to build a strong case in mitigation to persuade the Magistrates to be as lenient as possible on you, however the Magistrates would have to impose a minimum disqualification of at least 12 months in all cases, regardless of the consequences of a disqualification on you or others.
If on the other hand you are considering fighting the allegation, then there are significant steps that we strongly advise you take even before you are officially charged by the police.
Independent analysis of a drug drive blood sample
You should have been offered the opportunity to have your own sample independently tested. If you have been given a blood sample, then you should firstly put it in your fridge to preserve the integrity of the sample. Secondly, you should send the sample to an authorised laboratory for the purpose of independent testing. You should have been provided with a booklet to identify suitable laboratories who can perform the testing for you. If you have not been provided with the booklet, then you can find the names of authorised laboratories here: booklet-of-road-traffic-analysts.pdf (rsc.org).
If you were not offered the opportunity to have your own sample tested, or if you declined to accept your own sample at the time when it was offered to you, then it may still be worth contacting the police station to see if the sample is still available, and if so, request it from them.
Preservation of evidence following an arrest for drug driving
When we defend drug driving allegations, we typically tend to do so on the basis that there has been some serious procedural irregularity (the police have got something wrong) or on the basis that the sample, or its analysis, is unreliable (the sample has not been handled correctly, or something has gone wrong within the laboratory). Worryingly, this tends to happen far more often that you would like to think.
It is therefore critical to preserve your memory whilst it is still relatively fresh to ensure that these issues are captured before your memory fades. Whilst you can make your own notes of what happened, you won’t necessarily know what to look out for, or what constitutes a significant procedural breach.
In order to give you the best chance of an acquittal, we would ideally need to take a very detailed note of your evidence, whilst it is still very fresh in your memory, to identify early on whether things have gone wrong in the process, and document exactly how the blood sample was handled by all relevant parties.
Following this, it is also critical to ensure that vital evidence such as bodyworn video or CCTV is preserved. The reason for this is that by the time you are charged, there is a chance that this crucial evidence could have been taped over or deleted by the police. Once this evidence has been destroyed, it is much more difficult for your defence team to prove that that fundamental procedures have been breached, when the alternative of simply playing the CCTV could have demonstrated this aspect of your defence beyond reasonable doubt with stunning clarity.
Standby representation following an arrest for drug driving
Given the importance of early engagement in drug driving cases, and the considerable benefits that it can have on the success of your defence, we offer a ‘standby option’ for drivers who have been arrested for drug driving and are awaiting the results of the analysis.
If you have been arrested for drug driving and would need to defend the charge should the results suggest that you were over the specified limit, then we urge you to contact us without delay to enable us to begin the crucial process of securing and preserving the available evidence prior to your official police charge.
Our experience of successfully defending drug driving allegations really does highlight the importance of early involvement in the case, and the huge difference it can make to the overall outcome.
Early engagement also gives you the peace of mind in knowing that your case is being handled by experts, at the top of their game and who care deeply about your case. Your lawyer will only ever be a phone call away should you need to discuss any aspect of your case and will support you every step of the way.
Contact one of our drug driving experts today on 0330 33 22 770 or email admin@ashworthmotoringlaw.co.uk if you or someone you care about has been arrested for drug driving.
Who we are
Ashworth Motoring Law is a multi-award winning, highly specialised criminal law firm which focusses solely on representing motorists who are accused of committing driving offences such as drug driving. Our specialist solicitors are experts in all aspects of motoring law, and our Managing Director, Alison Ashworth, has particular expertise in defending drug driving offences. Alison was instrumental in campaigning against, and raising awareness of the new Section 5A drug driving offence before its introduction in 2015, appearing on the BBC and ITV News, and has successfully represented drivers from all walks of life in relation to this charge. If you’d like Alison to personally look into the details of your case, please ask to be put through directly to her when calling our office on 0330 33 22 770.