Does a marijuana DUI have the same impact as a regular DUI?
My brother was arrested for having the smell of weed in his car, and he had admitted to smoking earlier that afternoon. Will his DUI be greater than a regular DUI because of drug use?
Answered By: Bristol & Dubiel LLP
In Texas the State must prove for a Driving while intoxicated case that the person driving lost his normal use of his mental and/or physical faculties by the introduction of alcohol, drugs or a combination of either. Therefore, it does not change the punishment if marijuana is involved.
Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 8/11/2011
Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.
Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 8/11/2011
Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.
Answered By: The Law Office of M. Elizabeth Foley
Is this a DUI or a DWI? No, I'm not just being particular, they are 2 different offenses in Texas, and different things are required to prove each, in a way that would affect his case quite a bit. If your brother's under 21, he probably, but not necessarily, got a DUI, which is only a Class C misdemeanor instead of a Class B (much better to have) and only requires proof of ingestion of any intoxicating substance, combined with driving: intoxication is not required to prove a DUI. People under 21 can get DWIs also, some of that depends on the officer and some on how bad off they actually were. A DWI, on the other hand, requires intoxication plus driving. A marijuana-based DWI is actually kind of hard to prove, unless they were driving really badly, because reactions to marijuana vary, and there's no breath test to use. If this was a DUI, on the other hand, and he admitted smoking marijuana and then driving, well, there you go. It's not a sure thing, but the smell of weed in the car combined with that admission and the fact that he was driving may be all they really need, since they wouldn't need to prove intoxication.
Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 8/10/2011
Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.
Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 8/10/2011
Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.
Answered By: Cynthia Henley, Lawyer
They have the same impact only frankly, a marijuana DWI would be much harder for the State to prove. (It is DWI, not DUI, in Texas.) He should hire a lawyer & really consider fighting the case.
Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 8/10/2011
Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.
Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 8/10/2011
Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.
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