You have never even tried alcohol. Yet while driving slowly in Florence, taking your time on your way to Cincinnati an officer pulls you over and arrests you on suspicion of DUI. You aren’t worried since you haven’t been drinking. Surely, the breath test will prove you innocent.
However, when you get to the station, the officer informs you that they will be taking a urine and blood sample. You ask to take the breath test instead. The officer informs you that they will be checking for drugs.
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Drugs? Does my regular prescription medication count?
Yes. However, it may or may not show up on a urine or blood. It depends on what the medication contains. A police officer may ask you to take either a blood or urine test instead of a breath test if he suspects that drugs are the cause of intoxication. Typically, officers choose blood test because they are generally considered more reliable.
How is a blood or urine test administered?
For a blood test, the police officer must take you before a physician, registered nurse, phlebotomist, medical technician or medical technologist to have blood drawn, pursuant to Kentucky Revised Statute. This typically means that the officer will take you to the local hospital to have the test administered. The sample is collected and contained via syringe or vacuum-type container.
If it is a urine test, the sample must be given in the presence of a police officer or another person at his direction. Once a sample is collected, it must be sealed and labeled. It is then sent to the appropriate laboratory for testing.
What drugs show up on a blood or urine test?
After a sample is collected, the sample is sent to the local Forensic Laboratory branch of the Department of State Police. If an alcohol test comes back negative, it is tested further for drugs outside of therapeutic levels. The panel of drugs which the sample is tested for includes:
- Alprazolam
- Ketamine
- Amitriptyline
- Meperidine
- Amphetamine
- Meprobamate
- Butalbital
- Methadone
- Cannabinoids
- Methamphetamine
- Carisoprodol
- Methylenedioxyamphetamine
- Chlorpheniramine
- Midazolam
- Citalopram
- Nordiazepam
- Cocaine
- Nortriptyline
- Codeine
- Oxycodone
- Cyclobenzaprine
- Paroxetine
- Dextropmethorphan
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
- Diazepam
- Phenobrbital
- Diphenhydramine
- Phentermine
- Doxepin
- Sertraline
- Fentanyl
- Tramadol
- Hydrocodone
- Trazodone
If these or any additional drugs are detected in your sample, the prosecution will attempt to use it as evidence against you. However, our attorneys are experienced in dealing with blood and urine samples. We can review the results, determine its evidentiary value, and even negate its introduction into evidence if several procedures were not followed in its collection, transportation, or testing.
Our Kentucky DUI attorneys can fight any evidence against you
Since the police have made a judgment that you were impaired, they will aggressively use any means necessary to uncover a cause for your impairment. This may include asking you about your medication. Call Suhre & Associates DUI and Criminal Defense Lawyers, we can help. No matter what form or results from testing the Commonwealth will use as evidence against you, we have the knowledge and experience to help.
A urine test or blood test is often unreliable due to the failure to follow proper procedures in the administration or analysis of the sample. Additionally, it isn’t impolite to refuse to offer the police evidence against you. Inform the police that they will need to address all questions to us. Don’t be intimidated. You have rights. Give us a call now at (859) 663-2900.