You can refuse to take a mouth swab test in California
In California, it is against the law to drive under the influence of drugs, or a combination of drugs and alcohol, if doing so impairs your ability to drive with the caution of a sober person. This offense is known as a DUI of drugs, or DUID. Yet unlike with DUIs involving alcohol, there isn’t a simple test, like a machine that you can breathe into, to determine whether someone is under the influence of drugs. There is also not a legal limit to determine what level of drugs will impair a person to the point where they cannot safely drive.
Law enforcement in California now employ a test known as a mouth swab test (MST) to determine if drugs are in a person’s system. Like a roadside breathalyzer test, it is used in the field if an officer believes that a person might be committing the offense of DUID.
However, as a DUI attorney in San Bernardino, CA can explain, drivers (except those on DUI probation or under the age of 21) can refuse to take a roadside breathalyzer test. And just like drivers can refuse to take a roadside breathalyzer test, drivers in California can also refuse to take a MST.
A mouth swab test is exactly what it sounds like: a small swab that a driver rubs inside of his or her mouth for a few minutes. The law enforcement officer then takes the swab, places it inside of a device, and adds a special solution. Within a 6 to 8 minutes, the system will inform the officer if there are drugs in the driver’s system. Currently, the MST can detect the presence of seven specific drugs: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, amphetamine, methadone, and benzodiazepines.
Importantly, the test only tells the officer if the drug is present in the driver’s system. It does not tell law enforcement the level of drugs that are present, or whether the driver is impaired.
This distinction is critical, because it means that these tests have limited use — and are mostly used to arrest people who the police may not otherwise have probable cause to arrest. If you refuse to submit to a MST, then the police can only arrest you for suspicion of DUID if they have probable cause to believe that you are driving under the influence of drugs and that your driving is impaired as a result. For example, they would need to have evidence that you were driving unsafely, or that you were slurring your words.
If a person submits to the MST, the test will either come back positive or negative. If it comes back positive, then the driver will most likely be arrested for DUID. If it comes back negative, then the driver could still be arrested for DUID if there is probable cause to arrest him or her. According to a DUI attorney in San Bernardino, CA, there is no real advantage to taking this test.
If you have been charged with a DUI of drugs, you will need an experienced lawyer who can help defend you against the charges. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
