While roadside saliva tests may show the presence of drugs like marijuana in your system, they are not conclusive evidence that you were driving under the influence.
In California and a growing number of states across the country, marijuana is legal, either for medical purposes or completely legal. But just because using marijuana may be legal for you doesn’t mean that you can drive while under the influence — California law provides stiff penalties for driving under the influence of drugs, including marijuana.
Proving that someone is under the influence of marijuana while driving can be difficult. This spring, a California legislator introduced a bill that would allow police officers to perform a roadside check of a driver’s saliva through a mouth swab that is supposed to tell the officer if the driver is under the influence of drugs — including marijuana. But how accurate is this method of testing?
How Mouth Swabs Are Used
The concept of this type of testing is fairly simple. Using a simple swab, an officer can test a driver’s salvia for the presence of THC (the active compound in marijuana), methamphetamine, methadone, cocaine and other drugs, including prescription medications. The test takes approximately eight minutes. The tests work by detecting drugs in your saliva for up to three days after consuming them — even trace amounts. The tests do not show the level of THC in your system — only that it is present in some amount.
While some laboratories claim that saliva tests are far more accurate than urine tests for detecting the presence of marijuana, even an accurate test result raises an important question. If the test can detect the presence of drugs up to 72 hours after using it, is that really proof that you were driving under the influence? After all, you could have consumed marijuana several days ago. It is illogical to conclude that a person who smoked marijuana on a Friday, for example, is too intoxicated from that marijuana to drive on a Monday.
Marijuana also affects different people in different ways. A habitual user may be able to ingest marijuana shortly before driving and still be able to operate a vehicle with the care and caution of a sober person. A person who uses it infrequently may not be able to drive like a sober person, but that does not mean that they are unable to drive the next day or even two days later. A skilled San Bernardino DUI lawyer can challenge the results of these tests and other chemical tests by showing that you were not actually intoxicated while driving. Even if the saliva test is perfectly accurate at detecting marijuana, it is still not definitive proof that you were actually under the influence while operating a vehicle.
Your Right to Refuse Pre-Arrest Screenings
Under California law, unless you are under the age of 21 or currently on DUI probation, you have the right to refuse to submit to a pre-arrest preliminary screening for drugs or alcohol. This means that even if the drug swab law did eventually pass, you do not have to agree to be tested if you do not fall into either of those two categories. However, if you are arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, you will be required to take a chemical test to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol in your system. Even if those test results are positive, an experienced San Bernardino DUI lawyer can challenge the accuracy and utility of the test in court.
Saliva swabs are just the latest in a series of measures designed to protect Californians from drivers who operate vehicles while under the influence. While many agree with the goal of making our roads safer, if the tests do not actually prove that someone was driving under the influence of drugs, they are not very useful.
DUI charges can wreak havoc on your life. If you’ve been arrested for DUI of drugs, contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com. We will vigorously defend you to obtain the best possible result for your case.
