Driving Under the Influence of PCP can Result in Additional California Charges Involving PCP
If you are arrested for driving under the influence of phencyclidine (“PCP”) chances are that prosecutors will likely charge you with some additional California PCP-related charges as well. Depending on the circumstances, these may include charges for possession of PCP, possession of PCP for the purpose of sale and/or transporting PCP.
The most likely offense would be a violation of California’s law against using or being under the influence of PCP. And while it would seem like being under the influence of PCP would be encompassed in the crime of driving under the influence of PCP, it isn’t. California courts have held that the two are completely separate crimes, which means you can be prosecuted and sentenced for both.
This is primarily because the two offenses have different definitions of what constitutes “under the influence”.
You drive under the influence of PCP when the PCP has “so far affected the nervous system, the brain, or muscles as to impair to an appreciable degree the ability to operate a vehicle in a manner like that of an ordinarily prudent and cautious person in full possession of his faculties”. You are under the influence of PCP when your physical and/or mental abilities are impaired in “any detectable manner”.
Both charges are misdemeanors and both are equally defensible. If you find yourself arrested for these or any other California PCP-related charges, be sure to speak with a skilled California drug crimes defense attorney.
