In Nevada, you can be charged with DUI of drugs (DUID) if you get caught driving while under the influence of an intoxicating drug such as cocaine, methamphetamine or even a legal medication your doctor prescribed like codeine. DUID is punished largely the same as a DUI of alcohol.
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Nevada DUID Laws AT-A-GLANCE |
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| Choice of breath or blood test after the arrest? | No, you must take a blood test. |
| Mandatory jail for a first-time misdemeanor offense? | No, not as long as you pay the fine and attend DUI school and a victim impact panel. |
| Mandatory license suspension? | Yes, but you can still drive during the suspension period with an ignition interlock device in your car. |
| Additional criminal charges? | If there are narcotics found in your car, you could also be charged with illegal drug possession (NRS 453.336). |
In this article, our Las Vegas DUI lawyers discuss:
- 1. What is DUI of drugs?
- 2. Are blood tests required after an arrest?
- 3. Will I go to jail?
- 4. Will I lose my license?
- 5. Can DUID be reduced to reckless driving?
- 6. How can I fight the charges?
- 7. Will immigrants be deported?
- 8. When can I get my record sealed?
- Additional Reading
1. What is DUI of drugs?
Nevada’s legal definition of driving under the influence of a controlled substance is either:
- Driving after ingesting, inhaling, or injecting “a chemical, poison or organic solvent, or any compound or combination of any of these, to a degree which renders you incapable of safely driving or exercising actual physical control of a vehicle.” Or
- Driving with an amount of a prohibited substance in your blood or urine that is equal to or greater than:
| Urine | Blood | |
| Nanograms | Nanograms | |
| Prohibited substance | per milliliter | per milliliter |
| (a) Amphetamine | 500 | 100 |
| (b) Cocaine | 150 | 50 |
| (c) Cocaine metabolite | 150 | 50 |
| (d) Heroin | 2,000 | 50 |
| (e) Heroin metabolite: | ||
| (1) Morphine | 2,000 | 50 |
| (2) 6-monoacetyl morphine | 10 | 10 |
| (f) Lysergic acid diethylamide | 25 | 10 |
| (g) Marijuana (only for third- or successive DUIs in a seven-year period) | no urine test, just blood | 2 |
| (h) Marijuana metabolite (only for third- or successive DUIs in a seven-year period) | no urine test, just blood | 5 |
| (i) Methamphetamine (Meth) | 500 | 100 |
| (j) Phencyclidine | 25 | 10 |
So it is unlawful per se to operate a motor vehicle with blood or urine that contains the minimum prohibited amount of drugs even if you are driving safely and not impaired.
Note that it makes no difference if the drug is an illegal controlled substance, a prescription medication like Ambien or Vicodin, an over-the-counter med like Nyquil, or any other substance that can cause you to lose control of the car or to drive unsafely.1
See our related articles on:
2. Are blood tests required after an arrest?
Yes, you are required to provide a blood sample following a DUID arrest. You cannot elect to take a breath test because breathalyzers measure only BAC (blood alcohol content), not drug content.
When you are initially pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence, the officer may order you to perform field sobriety tests (FSTs) and to take a preliminary breath test (PBT). Failing the field sobriety tests but passing the breath test is a sign to law enforcement that you may be under the influence of narcotics rather than alcohol. At that point, the police may call for officers with specialized training in drug recognition evaluation (DREs) to take over the investigation and determine whether probable cause exists for an arrest.
As a driver in Nevada, you are assumed to have given implied consent to submit to a blood and/or urine test if you are ever pulled over on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. When you refuse to take a blood test for the purposes of determining DUID, the police will confiscate your driver’s license and use reasonable force such as constraining you in order to have the test administered by a medical professional. A refusal to take the chemical test can also be used against you as evidence in a criminal trial.2
Under Nevada DUI law, driving with an impairment from taking narcotics is punished the same as driving under the influence of alcohol.
3. Will I go to jail?
Going to jail is rare for a first-time DUID in Nevada. However, jail is mandatory for any successive convictions unless you are admitted into the rehabilitation program DUI Court.
DUID punishments are virtually identical to drunk driving penalties, and they increase with each successive offense. It does not matter whether the prior offenses involved alcohol instead of drugs:
| DUID offense |
Criminal sentence in Nevada |
| 1st DUI (within 7 years) | Misdemeanor:
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| 2nd DUI (within 7 years) | Misdemeanor:
It may be possible to do DUI Treatment Court in lieu of jail. |
| 3rd DUI (within 7 years) | Category B felony:
It may be possible to do Felony DUI Treatment Court in lieu of prison. |
| DUI causing substantial bodily harm or death (NRS 484C.430) | Category B felony:
Note that if you have three or more previous DUI convictions, then a fatal DUI will be charged as vehicular homicide (NRS 484C.440) – a category A felony. The prison term is upped to 25 years or a life sentence, with the possibility of parole after 10 years. |
4. Will I lose my license?
If you are arrested for DUID in Nevada, you can usually continue driving until the blood test results return positive, which may take weeks. When you receive the DMV’s notice of suspension in the mail, you should tell us right away so we can request a hearing to contest the suspension.
You can then continue to keep driving until if and when the DMV hearing judge finds against you. If you do not request a hearing, your license suspension will begin on the date specified in the DMV letter – usually within seven days.
The length of a DUID license suspension is the same as in DUI cases, and it increases with each successive offense. Note that it does not matter whether your prior offenses involved drugs or alcohol.
| DUI offense |
Length of Nevada driver’s license revocation |
| First offense (within 7 years) | 185 days, though it may be possible to continue driving immediately with an ignition interlock device. |
| Second offense (within 7 years) | 1 year, though it may be possible to continue driving immediately with an ignition interlock device. |
| Third offense (within 7 years) or any other felony DUI | 3 years, though it may be possible to continue driving immediately with an ignition interlock device..5 |
Note that each DUI arrest begins two cases:
- the DMV case, and
- the criminal case.
Even if you win the DMV case, you will still get your license revoked if you lose the criminal case. The only way to avoid a license suspension is to win both cases.
5. Can DUID be reduced to reckless driving?
Possibly, especially if we can show prosecutors that the state’s evidence is questionable. The main advantage of getting a first-time DUID reduced to reckless driving (NRS 484B.853) is that any future DUI arrest would count as a first-time offense, not a successive one.
Another advantage is that a reckless driving conviction can be sealed from your criminal record after only a one-year period once the case closes. Misdemeanor DUIDs must remain on your record for seven years.6
Learn how to reduce a DUI to reckless driving in Nevada.
Driving high on pot is illegal even though Nevada permits possession of up to 2.5 ounces of recreational marijuana.
6. How can I fight the charges?
Here at Las Vegas Defense Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with DUI of drugs. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.
- The police committed misconduct. Perhaps the police officer did not have reasonable suspicion to make the original traffic stop. Or perhaps the police administered the field sobriety tests incorrectly. In many cases, police mistakes could be enough to get a DUID charge dropped.
- Your blood results were inaccurate. We investigate every aspect of your blood draw, including the chain of custody of the samples and whether the lab techs had current certification. If there is any question that your blood test results may have been compromised, the prosecutor may agree to drop the charge.
- There was no DUID. Perhaps you did not start ingesting drugs until after being pulled over by the police. Or if there was an accident, perhaps you did not start taking drugs until after getting out of the car. If we can show that any drug use occurred after you stopped driving, the DUID charge cannot stand.
Note that it is not a defense to any DUI charge that you were driving safely and did not seem impaired. As long as you have illegal amounts of drugs in your blood, you are committing DUID.
7. Will immigrants be deported?
Driving under the influence is usually not a deportable offense. However, when drugs are involved, things are less certain.7
Therefore, if you are a non-citizen charged with DUID, you should contact an experienced attorney to fight to get the charge dropped or reduced.
8. When can I get my record sealed?
A misdemeanor DUID conviction in Nevada can be sealed seven (7) years after the case closes. However, if your DUID conviction is a felony, it must remain on your record forever.
Meanwhile, any charge that gets dismissed can be sealed immediately.8 Learn how to seal criminal records.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Drunk versus drugged: How different are the drivers? – Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
- Repeat DUI Offenders Who Have Had a Drug Diagnosis: Are They More Prone to Traffic Crashes and Violations? – Traffic Injury Prevention.
- Driving under the influence of drugs – Wires Forensic Science.
- Drugs and Driving – Traffic Injury Prevention.
- The use of psychoactive prescription drugs among DUI suspects – Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Legal References
- NRS 484C.110. See also Lindesmith v. State (Nev.App. 2023) No. 85640-COA; Whisler v. State, (2005) 121 Nev. 401, 116 P.3d 59, 121 Nev. Adv. Rep. 40.
- NRS 484C.160; NRS 484C.150. See also State v. Jones, (1995) 111 Nev. 774, 895 P.2d 643, 111 Nev. Adv. Rep. 76.
- NRS 484C.400.
- NRS 484C.430.
- NRS 483.460.
- NRS 179.245.
- INA 237(a)(2)(B)(ii); 8 USC 1227(a)(2)(B)(ii).
- NRS 179.245; NRS 179.255.