Boise Criminal Lawyers - Divorce Attorneys - Family Law Attorney - Probate and Estate Lawyer

Boise Criminal Lawyers, Divorce Attorneys, Family Law Attorney, Probate and Estate Lawyer, call (208) 472-2383 for your free consultation today.

My legal practice revolves around criminal law, divorce law, family law, probate and estate law, employment law and small business law.  Very often my day to day practice as an attorney is routine.  As a Boise Divorce Attorney, I might do the ordinary divorce and custody hearing.  As a Boise Criminal Lawyer I might go to court and argue a probable cause issue to attempt to throw out a DUI.  As a Probate Attorney I might file the appropriate paperwork for a formal probate proceeding.

That is on an ordinary day.  Occasionally, unique or interesting issues raise their heads and I get to take the fascinating twists and turns of legal analysis that compelled me to go into the law in the first place.  I had the opportunity recently to delve into just such analysis in my capacity as a Boise Criminal Lawyer.

Idaho Code 18-8004 is the statute governing DUI in Idaho.  It says that it is a crime to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Now that seems obvious.  Everybody knows that you can't drive while you are impaired.  But here is the interesting thing; while that code section defines an amount of alcohol in your blood stream, it does not quantify how much marijuana in your system constitutes being impaired.  Presumably then, any amount of marijuana or other illegal drug in your system would technically rise to the level of impaired.

The chemical ingredient in marijuana, the one which is responsible for the high your get after smoking it is known as THC.  In a blood or urine test used to determine your use of marijuana, it is the THC that is measured.  THC stays in your system for some time, depending upon how much and how heavy a marijuana smoker your are.  According to Washington University, the half life of marijuana is 24 hours but, if you are a heavy user, it can be detected in your blood stream for up to 45-60 days.

So why does all this matter and why do I find it interesting?  If you are driving a motor vehicle in Idaho and you are pulled over and the police officer becomes suspicious of your behavior, he or she can request that you take a field sobriety test.  If you are like most people, you may have difficulty passing the test.  If you fail, the officer can then request that you submit to a blood or urine test.  If you have smoked pot in the last month, you might be setting yourself up to get a DUI.  The blood and the urine test used in Idaho to determine if you have drugs in your system doesn't measure any level of drug.  It doesn't have to.  It is just either positive or negative.

Paranoid? Maybe, but it's my job to give advice.  Just a word of caution.

If you have been charged with a DUI and need to speak to a Boise Criminal Lawyer, please call (208) 472-2383.