Alcohol Evaluation

It is likely that you have a screen drug / alcohol / evaluation of your arrest for drunk driving for three reasons:

1. Under NYS law, an alcohol, drug screening and evaluation is required if your BAC (blood alcohol concentration in the blood) at time of arrest (as measured by breath test ) was, 15 or more.
2. The results of an evaluation can be helpful to your lawyer for plea bargaining to show that your conduct on the night of the arrest was an isolated event, not a role model of alcohol abuse.
3. The alcohol testing or evaluation is part of the RFP DMV (Drinking Driver Program) and must be done to obtain a driving privilege suspended. completion of the program is based on tracking through all the recommendations made by the treatment OASAS (Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services) certified provider. They have an excellent site to find providers in your area, just put OASAS Google.

My advice before your screening alcohol / Evaluation:

1. Be prepared to answer questions about your medication and / or consumption of alcohol.

Read the MAST (Michigan Alcohol Screening Test) to get an idea of the type of questions that will be on screening forms. Under the screening program of the RFP alcohol is a questionnaire / form to determine if you need an assessment / evaluation by a provider.

2. Be prepared to provide a urine sample for a drug screen.

Note: The screens are not drug testing. The screens are generally quick and inexpensive. They have a high sensitivity (allocating show false positives), and are not specific to the quality or type of drug. A screening test is very specific, and designed to qualify and quantify a particular drug. You may not have to provide a urine sample, but why take the risk. It is always best to wait to give a clean sample that decline. I tell all my clients to avoid cannabis for at least four weeks before the test and other drugs for at least two weeks before the screen.

Many legal and illegal drugs have long half-life (stay in your body for a long period of time). Life halfway works is that every 7 days and a half remaining after drug use. After half an additional 7 days of the half that remains is to say 1 / 4 left. After 7 more days, half of the remaining 1 / 4 is left, that is 1 / 8 of the initial dose and so on. After 5 half-lives 1 / 64 of the drug can be left at this stage, it is likely that there will be no clinical effect of the drug. This half-life depends on the frequency of drug use, method of intake, duration of use, your tolerance to the drug, your fluid intake, the size of your body, your body fat, your metabolism, and the specific range that the drug testing used to designate a "positive" for drug use. THC in particular, is stored by the body in fatty lipid tissue and are gradually released into the blood stream until cleared. For chronic users with a percentage body-fat, this elimination process can take several weeks. Sometimes people on diets can be to burn fat, and release of stored drugs (drugs stored in fat cells) in their urine.

The table below provides a guide for detection periods for many drugs commonly used:

Drug and approximate time of detection

Alcohol Amphetamines Barbiturates 6-24 hours 2-3 days 1 day 3-7 days 3 weeks Benzodiazepines 2-5 days Cocaine Euphoric (MDMA, Ecstasy) 1-3 days Marijuana (THC) 7-30 days (use light - moderate use - the days of frequent / chronic use) Steroids (anabolic) 14-30

Any prescription drugs not reported to the supplier, but can appear in your urine W.