Drug Driving

Drug driving has significant consequences for you and your license.

If you’re facing drug driving penalties, we understand what it takes to keep on the road and we offer free initial case evaluations. Roadside swabs often indicate “false positives” to other prescribed medications like metformin.

If you are caught in the possession of drugs commonly referred to as “Modalert” contact us as we have extensive experience in dealing with such matters.

What is drug driving?

Driving under the influence of an illicit drug means that you are driving a motor vehicle or supervising a learner driver and have an illicit drug in your bloodstream or oral fluid.

Illicit drugs include (but are not necessarily limited to) any of the following:

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as THC)
Methylamphetamine (speed)
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy)
Cocaine

Procedure when testing drivers for illicit drugs

Police will perform a roadside swab similar to RBT. This will determine if you have any restricted drugs in your saliva. If the test results are positive, you will need to submit a second sample of saliva at the police station. The secondary test that is positive is sent to the lab for proper analysis. If the analysis is positive, police will issue a penalty or court attendance notice.

You could be issued a penalty notice by police if you are caught driving under the influence of an illicit drug.

Court procedure when charged with Drug Driving

You will be required to appear in court on the day you are given a court attendance note. A court attendance notice will be sent to you if you have received a penalty notice, and you choose to have the matter decided by the court. A mention date is the first time you appear in court.

You have two options to avoid a criminal conviction. If you win, you can plead not guilty to the case and get it dismissed. Or you can convince the court to resolve the matter by finding that you are guilty but not obtaining a conviction.

Preparing to go to court

The Magistrate will review your court attendance notice, the police fact sheet, your submission and any other material that you have brought to court when deciding your case. They will also listen to any information you or your lawyer would like to share with the court.

Your submission to the court is your most crucial defence in minimising the potential penalties against you. It is essential to research and prepare your submission in as much relevant detail as possible.

Why choose Highway Advocates Pty as your Drug Driving lawyer?

Highway Advocates Pty Ltd is experienced in criminal and traffic law. Our lawyers have extensive experience in drug-driving cases and are highly familiar with the processes and systems in this area of law. We will prepare a detailed submission arguing your case to the court, and then work hard in the courtroom to keep you on the road.