OVI charges

Can You Get an OVI from Driving High in Ohio?

Ohio OVI laws regarding marijuana are strict because driving while high is dangerous. Even if you don’t feel “high,” any amount of marijuana you consume may affect your ability to drive safely. Like alcohol, marijuana use slows reaction times, impairs judgment, and reduces concentration levels. Some studies suggest that a person driving while high on weed may be twice as likely to be involved in a car crash. Police in Ohio know this and are on the lookout for people driving while high. If you face charges of driving under the influence of marijuana, then you need a tough and experienced Ohio DUI lawyer to fight your charges. At Gounaris Abboud, LPA., our DUI defense attorneys have over 50 years of combined legal experience. We have won dismissals or reduced penalties for hundreds of our DUI clients. We tailor our defense strategy to your needs to give you the best chance of achieving a favorable result. Can You Get an DUI for Weed? Even though Ohio has not legalized marijuana for recreational use, Ohio residents can get medical marijuana with a prescription. Since medical marijuana is legal, you might be wondering, Can you get a DUI for weed even if you have a medical marijuana card? The answer is quite simple. Under Ohio law, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs (OVI) is a crime. Therefore, the police can charge you with OVI if they have probable cause to believe that you are under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both.  Officers receive extensive training on identifying intoxicated drivers. They learn to look for signs of intoxication such as the person’s driving pattern, manner of speech, ability to follow instructions, performance on field sobriety tests, and other factors.  Officers may know pretty quickly when someone might be under the influence of alcohol. One of the first things that an officer may notice is the smell of alcohol from the driver’s breath. That’s often the first indicator that someone is drunk driving. But what happens if someone shows signs of intoxication but there is no odor of alcohol on the person? Drug Recognition Experts Law enforcement agencies in Ohio started programs to help officers better identify people who are driving while high. The Ohio State Police now use the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program as a tool to identify people driving under the influence of drugs.  The DRE program trains officers on the typical indicators of a person impaired by drugs, including marijuana. Once they complete the training, DREs can assist other officers at accident scenes or investigations of persons suspected of OVI.  Field sobriety tests are one of the investigative tools DREs use. Field sobriety tests might help DREs conclude that a person is under the influence of a drug like heroin or prescription pills. However, field sobriety tests are unreliable when investigating someone for driving while high on weed.  Experts studied field sobriety tests to determine if they could detect someone under the influence of marijuana. The analysis showed that standard field sobriety tests could not detect a person who is high on weed accurately. That means field sobriety tests are useless to determine if someone is under the influence of marijuana while driving. Therefore, a knowledgeable OVI defense lawyer can make a strong argument to keep a DRE’s opinion of intoxication out of evidence at trial. Chemical Testing for Marijuana Ohio is one of a handful of states that have a per se law for alcohol as well as marijuana and other drugs. By now, most people understand that driving with an alcohol concentration of 0.08% or above is a crime, even if you show no signs of intoxication. The same is true for marijuana, except that there is no breathalyzer test for marijuana. Instead, the police obtain either a blood sample or a urine sample from the suspect. Laboratory technicians then test the specimens.  Under Ohio law, a person operates a vehicle under the influence of marijuana when they have 10 nanograms of marijuana per milliliter of urine or two nanograms per milliliter of marijuana in their blood.  Additionally, police can charge you with OVI if you have a marijuana metabolite in your blood or urine. A marijuana metabolite is the by-product of marijuana in your system after your liver begins to break it down. Tests can detect marijuana metabolites up to five days after ingestion or longer, depending on the test. You could face an OVI charge for having 35 nanograms of marijuana metabolite per milliliter of urine or 50 nanograms per milliliter of blood. Additionally, the law allows you to be charged with OVI if you have 15 nanograms of marijuana metabolite in your urine or five nanograms of marijuana metabolite in your blood and are under the influence of alcohol or another drug at the same time.  How Can Gounaris Abboud, LPA, Help You with Your OVI Marijuana Charges? OVI marijuana charges are difficult to defend against. That’s why you need legal help from an experienced and dedicated legal team. At Gounaris Abboud, we have the knowledge and resources to defend your rights. We also understand how much an OVI charge can disrupt your life. Not only are you facing jail time, you face the social consequences of an OVI charge as well.  Our lawyers use their extensive experience and develop a defense strategy catered to your best interests. We can challenge the police’s actions at the scene and the scientific evidence to ensure you get the best result possible.  Contact the award-winning OVI defense lawyers with Gounaris Abboud, LPA, today at 937-222-1515 to learn about your options. We offer free confidential initial consultations and are available 24 hours a day to answer your questions. 

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Underage DUI Charges and Penalties in Ohio

An adult convicted of a DUI (driving under the influence) is certainly in for some troubled times ahead. An underage driver convicted of a DUI may be in even more trouble, as it places a damaging mark on their record at such an early stage of their lives. If you are a parent of an underage driver who was arrested for a DUI in Ohio, you need to be aware that it is up to you as their legal guardian to take the initiative and protect their rights and driving privilege. Penalties Underage Drivers May Face If your underage child is convicted of a DUI, the first penalty will most likely be a $250 fine. If your child does not have this money under their sole control, you will be expected to pay it instead. The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) will enact a license suspension of two years or until your child is 18, whichever suspension will last the longest. This can be a major burden for both you and your child as you both must cope with their sudden loss of their freedom of mobility. In cases where your child’s allegedly intoxicated driving causes an accident, resulting in significant injury, property damage, or death, they may be sentenced to 30 days in jail or a juvenile correctional facility. Such penalties are notorious for being more detrimental to a child’s wellbeing than constructive. You should do all you can to prevent this occurrence. It should also be noted that an underage DUI charge is triggered by a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of only 0.02%, not the more-commonplace 0.08%. Working Towards an Optimal Solution Most Ohio State judges presiding over underage DUI cases will admit that they do not want to penalize someone so young so harshly, but they must do their duties as representatives of the justice system. With this in mind, our Dayton DUI attorneys from Gounaris Abboud, LPA may be able to negotiate with the judge to secure your child an alternative sentencing that focuses not on punishment but instead on rehabilitation and education. We can also support you during BMV hearings and license reinstatement procedures to make certain that the administrative side of your underage child’s DUI case goes as smoothly as possible as well. Want to know more about our services? Call 937-222-1515 for a free case evaluation today.

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