Prescriptions, Pot and Booze

It’s the 4th of July in Utah and there’ll be barbecues, baseball, hiking, kids tournaments, and lots of partying this summer, more in Utah than anywhere else because of Pioneer Day at the end of the month. There’ll be those usual special events at all the popular venues: Snowbasin, Snowbird, Red Butte, Park City with Park Silly every Sunday, the Arts Festival, Ogden Amphitheater, the Davis County Fair, Cedar City, Logan, and Peach Days in Brigham City to mention only a few. The Raptors, the Orem Owls, and the Bees bring us baseball and community enjoyment. But, it’s also the time of the year to beware of consuming marijuana, drinking too much alcohol and taking prescribed medications since all of them could lead to a DUI, Impaired Driving or Driving with the metabolite of a controlled substance in your system. DUI marijuana arrests are on the rise since we now have 4 states on our borders with legalized marijuana, either recreational in Colorado and Nevada, or medicinal in New Mexico and Arizona. So driving from state to state brings a high risk for both possession and use in Utah, even if purchased and used legally in our border states. And it’s not to be taken lightly. All of these charges from possession and use of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, to DUI and Impaired Driving carry driver license consequences, potential jail, and other penalties and requirements. Many defenses can, however, be raised to mitigate the penalties one could be facing. Before you go out to your favorite haunts, figure out your options in the event you consume illegal or too much legal. If you’re going out to the No Name, a Deer Valley or Park City concert, a Bees or Raptors game, visiting one of our many National Parks for camping, fishing, boating or just relaxing, think ahead to minimize your risk. If you’re a golfer, biker or hiker, you’re be tempted to have a few more beers to fend off the heat, but if you plan accordingly, you can avoid doing the field sobriety tests on the highway while your friends and neighbors are driving by or worse, hurting yourself or someone else or going to jail. If you’re coming to Utah and planning on using marijuana here, you will be violating the law, and subject to all the penalties the laws impose. If you lose your driving privilege in Utah you’ll likely also lose your license in your own state. Driver licenses are crucial to retaining, and there are some remedies available to retain or regain use of those privileges. Note that you can also lose your driver license privilege if you’re piloting a boat, riding a bike or horse, or just in a tent having smoked pot, just in possession of paraphernalia or from having consumed too much alcohol.  DUIs and metabolite have dire consequences in Utah, whether in Salt Lake, Ogden, Logan, St George, Park City, Heber City, Tooele or out in the wild. That’s right, Wildlife Resources can also write you up, as well as arrest you, so don’t have that misconception that you’re safe around the campfire or on the river. With all of these warnings having been placed, if you’ve been arrested for Marijuana possession, DUI, or Dui metabolite, you should seek out an experienced lawyer to handle the ever-increasing web of laws and decisions modifying those laws and get you through the legal maze with the least amount of damage. Everyone makes mistakes, just don’t contribute to the mistake by making more poor decisions.  Kelly Cardon and Associates is here to guide you to the best result possible to you and your set of facts and issues.