DUI-related stories and reports — emanating from both Colorado and elsewhere across the country — are increasingly citing data and other information germane to so-called “DUID” (driving under the influence of drugs) offenses.
And that is only natural, given the steady progression of states that are liberalizing their laws regarding the use of recreational and medicinal marijuana. Colorado is of course a vanguard state in that regard.
We duly point out for our readers across the state that liberalized enactments do not automatically equate to less draconian sentencing outcomes for drivers convicted of a DUID-linked offense. As we note on our motorists’-advocacy site at Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C., in Denver, “Colorado law has set some of the toughest limits [in the United States] for DUID, and you should not take this charge lightly.”
The focus on DUID offenses promises to be increasingly pointed and expansive nationally, given current legislative developments across the country. As such, we believe that it is eminently sensible for Colorado motorists to be reasonably aware that this DUI-related niche is a top-tier concern and investigatory focal point for state law enforcers and prosecutors.
Due appreciation of that fact is well warranted, given that the criminal exactions linked with DUID can be every bit as stringent as those associated with alcohol-related driving offenses. Motorists charged with driving under the influence of drugs — even first-time offenders — can spend time in jail, be slapped with onerously high fines and other penalties, and even lose their licenses.
We’ll have a bit more to say on this subject in our next blog post