With the legalization of marijuana happening across the country, many false drugged driving arrests have occurred. While marijuana is not legal in North Carolina, it is still possible to be falsely arrested on drugged driving charges. The problem with these arrests is that there are no reliable testing methods as there are with drunk driving.
It is already happening in other states. Our close neighbor, the state of Georgia, has made headlines for allegedly making false drugged driving arrests. In fact, the Cobb County Police Department has been targeted in a lawsuit filed by three motorists who were arrested for drugged driving. It was later shown that none of the plaintiffs was impaired at the time of their arrests. The authorities dropped the charges, but the arrests still appear on the motorists’ records.
How can a false drugged driving arrest occur?
First, we will get the obvious out of the way. If the police in North Carolina stop you and find marijuana or other drugs in your vehicle, you can expect an arrest. The officer may also choose to arrest you if you exhibit signs of marijuana impairment even though you do not possess the substance. Unfortunately, not all police officers are trained drug recognition experts (DREs) and may not be equipped to judge your sobriety.
What can those falsely arrested do?
You should never take a false arrest lightly. Do not assume that you will be relieved of your charges and that your record will disappear. Instead, we urge you to seek a legal opinion at once so that you can develop an effective strategy to help prove your case. This is just as important for false drugged driving arrests as it is for drunk driving arrests. We offer our readers additional information about these legal issues on our firm’s website.