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Some Defenses For Drug DUI Cases

March 5, 2018By Brian Manchester

I was going over the latest PA Bulletin on the minimum detection levels for a case and I wanted to share some information about it because I often get calls on this topic. In summary, if a Schedule I, II, or III controlled substance is not on this list (attached) it isn’t admissible pursuant to 1547(c)(iv). Remember benzodiazepines are Schedule IV so they are not covered by this Bulletin.

There are a lot of controlled substances that my client allegedly consume that are not covered. Some of the more popular non-covered drugs are synthetic cannabinoids (marijuana) and synthetic cathinones (bath salts). The synthetic cannabinoids are too numerous to mention and new forms are coming out as quick as chemists can think of them. But too bad for the government. They are not listed so they don’t get in. One of the most popular synthetic cathinones I come across is Alpha-PVP. Again not listed so not admissible. One of the most popular drugs I see is buprenorphine (Suboxone) which is a Schedule III drug and its metabolite norbuprenorphine. As you can see from the attached bulletin no minimum level set by the Department of Health.

Another thing to look for are metabolites. As you can see Hydrocodone and its metabolite hydromorphone are listed. Oxycodone is listed but its metabolite oxymorphone isn’t. Why? Who knows but that is the government’s problem. The prosecutors I deal with always try to make metabolites look like another drug is in a person’s system and with that all of the negative implications that brings.

Posted in: Drug DUI Defenses , DUI Blog

Tags: drug, Drug DUI Cases, DUI Cases, DUI Defense,

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About the Author

Brian Manchester is the owner of Manchester and Associates in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. His law firm practices DUI and Criminal Defense exclusively throughout the entire state of Pennsylvania in both state and federal court. He has a team of two other lawyers with a combined 50 years of trial and courtroom experience are also trained in science and many other skills that are relevant to criminal defense to include the psychology of persuasion as well. One of his associates is a former District Attorney (chief prosecutor) in central Pennsylvania.   Mr. Manchester and his team routinely handle serious felony cases including murder, manslaughter, sex crimes, complex financial crimes, and serious assaults. A large part of Mr. Manchester’s practice is the defense of alcohol and drug-based DUI offenses as well as drug cases using science and analytical chemistry. Mr. Manchester has training as a Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructor. He is one of a handful of Certified Lawyer-Scientists as recognized by the American Chemical Society in the United States. He is a member of NCDD and is a Founding Member of DUIDLA. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society with over 170,000 members across the world. To date, he is the only practicing criminal defense lawyer to belong to the Society of Forensic Toxicologist where he is an Associate Member. Mr. Manchester speaks nationally on the topic of blood and drug testing for alcohol as well as the metrological (measurement uncertainty) in forensic testing.

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