Drive with illicit substance in system (drug driving) lawyers
We are expert traffic lawyers, with 500+ 5-star Google reviews, who assist clients charged with driving with an illicit substance in their system to avoid criminal records and keep their driver’s licence.
For driving with illicit substance in system (drug driving) offences:
- You will be charged a fixed fee of $2,200.
- Be represented by a traffic lawyer with at least 5 years of experience as a traffic lawyer.
- Be represented by a law firm with 500+ five-star Google reviews, which you can read here.
- Be represented by lawyers who have won awards like NSW Australian of the Year, the Law Society President’s Medal, the Pride of Australia Medal, and the Human Rights Award.
- Support our Community Partnership initiative.
If you have been charged with a drug driving offence, phone us on (02) 8815 8167 or make a website enquiry.
Driving with an illicit substance or drug in your system charge and what this means:
Drug driving with an illicit substance or drug in your system is what it sounds like. It is driving while having an illicit substance or drug in your system that is tested and detected as part of Roadside drug tests.
Roadside drug tests do not need to determine how much of the drug is in your system or if you are likely to have your driving ability impaired by the presence of the drug to be charged. Rather, it is enough to have the drug in your system at all.
To be guilty of this offence, you do not need to be impaired in any way. For example, if you had a joint three days earlier and tested positive for cannabis, you are guilty irrespective of whether it has been days since you felt the effect of the drug.
What drugs do roadside drug tests test for?
The drugs that are tested for as part of roadside drug tests in NSW include four common illegal drugs: ecstasy (MDMA, ecstasy pills), THC (the active ingredient in cannabis or marijuana), cocaine, and methamphetamine (including speed and ice).
How the Roadside Drug test is performed:
Similar to drink driving tests, Police can test for the presence of specific drugs in a person’s system. Where drink driving tests require the driver to blow into or count into a device, drug driving tests involve saliva swab which is tested for the presence of certain illicit drugs.
Should the test result in a positive read, a second test will be administered. In NSW, that consists of a second saliva swab, which is then sent to a lab for testing.
What happens after a positive road-side drug test?
Following a roadside drug test, your swab is sent to a lab for testing. If the lab finds the swab tests positive for the presence of illicit drugs or substances, the following is what will happen;
First Drug driving offence
If it is your first drug driving offence, the police will deal with your case in one of two ways.
The first way is to issue you with a penalty notice, which includes a $644 fine and a three-month licence suspension. This can be challenged in court, and your lawyer can request the court deal with you without a conviction or fine or loss of licence. There is a risk that if the penalty notice is unsuccessfully challenged in court, then you could end up with a criminal record, a higher fine, and a longer period without a licence. You should speak to a lawyer before electing to have a penalty notice heard in court.
The second way is to issue a court attendance notice requiring you to go to court, where the police will prosecute you. Penalties include criminal convictions, fines of up to $2,200, and licence disqualification of up to 6 months. In this circumstance, your traffic lawyer can argue in court for you to obtain no criminal conviction, no fine, and no licence disqualification. We are expert traffic lawyers who achieve those results for clients.
Second or subsequent Drug driving offence
For a second or subsequent drug driving offence, you will very likely receive a court attendance notice requiring you to go to court, where the police will prosecute you. Penalties include criminal convictions, fines of up to $3300, and licence disqualification of up to 12 months. In this circumstance, your traffic lawyer can argue in court for you to obtain no criminal conviction, no fine, and no licence disqualification. We are expert traffic lawyers who achieve those results for clients.
Will I get a criminal record for drug driving?
If you are found or plead guilty to driving with an illicit substance or drug in your system, you will have the offence included on your criminal record unless you get a section 10.
Section 10 is where the court dismisses the offence without recording a conviction. When the court has not recorded a conviction, you are not given a criminal record, do not go to prison or receive a fine, and you keep your driver’s licence.
Our traffic lawyers are experts at obtaining section 10s for clients charged with driving with illicit substances in their system.
Preparing a sentence for a drug-driving offence
Our expert traffic lawyers will assist you prepare your sentence for driving with illicit substance in system offences, including:
- Referring you to a Traffic Offenders Intervention Program.
- Assisting you with references and an apology letter.
- Helping you collate corroborating documents such as employment contracts, timetables, and transport maps.
- Directing you to other services, such as drug and alcohol programs, counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists.
Why Australian Criminal Law Group
We are expert traffic lawyers who assist clients charged with driving with an illicit substance in their system to avoid criminal records and keep their driver’s licence.
For driving with illicit substance in your system (drug driving) offences:
- You will be charged a fixed fee of $2,200.
- Be represented by a traffic lawyer with at least 5 years of experience as a traffic lawyer.
- Be represented by a law firm with 500+ five-star Google reviews, which you can read here.
- Be represented by lawyers who have won awards like NSW Australian of the Year, the Law Society President’s Medal, the Pride of Australia Medal, and the Human Rights Award.
- Support our Community Partnership initiative.
If you have been charged with a drug driving offence, phone us on (02) 8815 8167 or make a website enquiry.
This information is intended as a general guide to law only. It should not be relied on as legal advice, and it is recommended that you speak with a qualified lawyer about your situation.
Australian Criminal Law Group and its suppliers make every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and validity of the information provided on its web pages. At the time of updating, this information was correct, however, given the laws in NSW and Australia are continually changing, the Australian Criminal Law Group makes no warranties or representations as to its accuracy.Â