Is It Possible To Get a DUI Sober?
By Dan Noll on July 15th, 2015 in
Can I get a DUI if I’m sober? The short answer is maybe. It depends on the type of DUI. If you’ve no alcohol in your system, obviously you can’t be convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. However, where the answer becomes maybe is in terms of drugs. For example, if an individual smokes cannabis or marijuana a few days prior to an accident, that THC metabolite is still in their system, they get into a standard accident where they’re not high at the time of the offense, they can still be charged and convicted of DUI. The reason is that Illinois charges an individual with any amount of drug in their system. If they take your urine and your urine has cannabis present in it, or THC metabolite is present in your urine, you can be charged with driving under the influence of drugs, or any amount of drugs.
This can come in significantly as it relates to aggravated DUI deaths. In Springfield we had a case where an individual had smoked marijuana two weeks prior to an accident. He hadn’t smoked in two weeks. He got into a plain, old traffic accident where the other motorist was killed, and our client was charged with driving under the influence that resulted in a death, because he did have THC in his system. These are very serious charges that take a lot of experience to litigate. However, to answer the question can I be charged with a DUI even though I’m sober, you may not physically feel any effects of a drug you took a week ago or two weeks ago, but as long as it remains in your system you can be charged and convicted of that in the state of Illinois.