Columbus OVI/DUI Attorney Blog
The headline from a recent article read, “Narcotics-based OVIs Rise in Ohio”. A police officer interviewed for the article said he has observed an increase in the number of drug-related OVIs. A representative of the Ohio State Highway Patrol reported fatal marijuana-related crashes rose 52% from 2019 to 2023. To combat this problem, Ohio law enforcement agencies are now using oral fluid testing to help determine intoxication from marijuana and other drugs.
Ohio Law Prohibits Drugged Driving
In Ohio, driving under the influence of drugs is prosecuted under the same law as driving under the influence of alcohol. Ohio Revised Code section 4511.19 prohibits operating a vehicle “under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them”. A ‘drug of abuse’ is a controlled substance, harmful intoxicant, prescription medication, or over-the-counter medication which can result in impairment of judgment or reflexes. A person is ‘under the influence’ of a drug if the drug adversely affects and noticeably impairs the person’s actions, reactions, or mental processes and affects the person’s nervous system, brain, or muscles to impair, to a noticeable degree, his/her ability to operate a vehicle.
Enforcing the Law Against Drugged Driving
To investigate suspected drugged drivers, law enforcement officers use the same methods as those used to investigate suspected drunk drivers. Officers are trained to detect clues which indicate a driver may be under the influence. When an officer interacts with a driver, the officer looks for those clues. If clues are observed, the officer typically administers field sobriety tests. However, the standardized field sobriety tests have been correlated with blood alcohol concentrations but have not been correlated with drug concentrations or impaired driving ability.
Drug Testing in OVI Cases
If an officer completes an OVI investigation and has probable cause to believe the driver is under the influence of drugs, the officer arrests the person for OVI. The officer then requests that the person submit a sample of urine or blood for drug testing. If the person consents, the sample is collected and sent to a crime lab. If the person refuses, the officer must get a warrant to obtain a blood sample. If a blood or urine sample is obtained, the sample is analyzed by a crime lab, and the test results are used to prosecute the driver for OVI.
Obtaining blood and urine samples is inconvenient and intrusive. For urine samples, a same-sex officer must watch the driver urinate to ensure the sample is not altered. For blood samples, the driver must be taken to a hospital and have blood drawn by a registered nurse or other qualified medical professional.
Oral Fluid Testing
Testing a driver’s oral fluid for drugs solves the problems of inconvenience and intrusiveness. Obtaining a sample of oral fluid simply requires swabbing a person’s mouth. It does not require a same-sex officer, it does not involve the embarrassment of urinating before a witness, it does not involve sticking a needle in the person’s arm, and it does not require a trip to the hospital or medical personnel.
Oral fluid testing does have limitations. Oral fluid testing kits which provide quick results have not been proven to be reliable. For oral fluid tests administered at a crime lab, the concentrations of drugs in oral fluid do not closely correlate with the concentrations of those drugs in blood. This is particularly true for THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana.
Conclusion
Driving under the influence of drugs has been an increasing problem in Ohio. Law enforcement has taken steps to address the problem. More improvement is needed, as field sobriety testing and oral fluid testing are not completely effective solutions.