If you are suspected of driving while impaired, you can be charged with DUI or DWAI. The factors which determine how you are charged are confusing, at best. Keep reading as we discuss what is the legal limit in Colorado?
What is the legal limit in Colorado for alcohol?
Most people are under the assumption that a .08% BAC is the legal limit for driving in Colorado. But that is not actually the case. Testing above .08% just means that you will be charged with a DUI right away. There are many other factors that go into whether you can be charged with either a DUI or DWAI. It is possible to be charged with either, even if you are under .08%.
If you test between .05% and .08% you can, and many times will be charged with a DWAI. Therefore, if you are looking for a “hard number” for a legal limit, .05% is a slightly more accurate number. However, the police and prosecutors do not need to have an actual BAC to charge you.
Who decides if I am charged with DUI or DWAI?
The police only must have evidence that you were impaired to the slightest degree to charge you with a DWAI. Prosecutors can use evidence that you stopped in a crosswalk at a stoplight, had a slight stumble when stepping out of the car, or failed a portion of a roadside sobriety test to prove their case without even using your BAC. As the police do not actually need a blood or breath test result, there actually isn’t a true “legal limit”.
The possibility of being charged with a DWAI or a DUI, even if you are below what is commonly thought to be the “legal limit” BAC can be very confusing to people who do not deal with these situations on a regular basis. If this has happened to you and you are looking for an attorney to help defend you, please contact us.
What is the legal limit in Colorado for Marijuana?
As mentioned above with the discussion of alcohol, there is not a true legal limit, as you can be charged with a DUI or DWAI for marijuana without testing above what is stated as the legal limit.
Colorado recently passed a law that created a number that, like .08% for alcohol, just means that you will likely be charged with DUI. The legal limit in Colorado for marijuana is 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. However, again, testing below does not mean that you cannot be charged with a DUI or DWAI. Marijuana, specifically the chemical THC, is processed differently by every person and you can be above the legal limit without even knowing you are.
Again, as you can receive an impaired driving charge even if you are below this number, it is important to have an attorney that can help you navigate and interpret the various other evidence that the state can and will use against you to prove their case.
What is the legal limit in Colorado for drugs?
If you are arrested for driving under the influence of drugs, either a DUID or a DWAI, you will only be able to take a blood test, you will not be allowed to take a breathalyzer test. To the law, all drugs are included in this, even drugs that have been legally proscribed to you by a doctor.
Unlike with alcohol and marijuana there is no number that can be construed as the legal limit in Colorado for drugs. Because of this is it very important to know that you can be charged with a DWAI if the police believe that you are impaired to the slightest degree by the drug, whether it was a controlled substance (illegal drug) or something that you legally took, such as a prescription.
As there is no true legal driving limit for alcohol, marijuana, or drugs in Colorado, it is important to have an attorney who can help look at the other facts and circumstances of your individual case to get you the best possible outcome.
