completely bullshit DUI arrest

[Cabbage]

so this is my first post but i have a pretty interesting story.

this last december i was driving from tucson to phoenix. im a student at univ of arizona. i had just recently started on some anti-depressant medicines and quit smoking the ganja at the time. i drank a monster energy drink on the drive down and all of a sudden started feeling incredibly tingly and short of breath, and my chest felt like it was about to explode. it felt like i had no choice but to pull over to the side of the highway or i would probably get into a horrible accident.

so i pull over and to my surprise there is a cop parked right on the side of the road where i am pulling over. he gets out of his car and i immediately roll down my window and tell him im having a medical emergency and i ask him to call an ambulance. i explain that i had just recently started taking some prescribed medicine that i thought had a bad reaction with the energy drink i just had (which was exactly what happened). so the cop called an ambulance.

after the paramedics got there they checked my heart rate to find it was at 175 beats per minute. 60-100 bpm is normal. i told them exactly what i had done and for some reason they didnt believe me. they thought i was on meth or something.

the cop then arrested me and charged me with driving under the influence of drugs. they took me to the hospital and drug tested me with an at home pee test. i tested positive for thc even though i hadnt smoked in 3-4 weeks.

in arizona if you get a DUI you must spend time in tent city (jail), you have to pay a ridiculous fine, pay to have a breathalyzer installed in your car (when you can keep driving), get your license revoked for a year minimum. and thats if i pleaded guilty.

but it gets better...

right after the cop leaves i am still in the hospital to be checked out by a doctor. the doctor finally arrives about an hour and a half later and a few minutes into his checkup thing my heart just goes NUTS!

my whole body became paralyzed, i couldnt feel anything but excruciating pain. i couldnt breathe. the only thing i could do was beg for somebody to stop the pain i was in.

my heart was going 200+ beats per minute this time (thats MORE than 3 beats per second). they gave me medicine through an IV that literally stopped my heart from beating for about 20 seconds. they had to do it twice and my heart just raced back up to 200+ bpm both times.

so the doctors gave me a decision: they could shock my heart and hopefully it would return to normal rhythm or they could give me a slower acting IV medicine that should slow my heart down over the next 20 minutes. i was in no condition to make any decision so they decided to give me the slower medicine.

well after about 8 hours in the ICU i was finally stable. the doctor called up my arresting "officer" and told him that marijuana had nothing to do with this situation and that i had even tested negative for it in the HOSPITAL drug screens.

the cop didnt care and just hung up the phone.

so i got myself a lawyer and pleaded not guilty. now because im pleading not guilty to a dui, if i am actually fonud guilty i could face up to 45 days in jail but would probably end up with 10. ten days in jail for all this???

well after a few months the state finally got my "actual" urine drug test results back. it showed that i had INACTIVE thc METABOLITES in my system. this means that i had smoked mary jane previously but it wasnt psychoactive and had no affect on my driving abilities.

but... according to arizona state law it doesnt matter. any thc metabolite in your system is grounds enough for a DUI.

i kept fighting this bullshit law in court and eventually got my sentence reduced to reckless driving. i had to pay a 1,000 dollar fine (that probably just went to those motherfucking pigs paychecks or some bullshit like that), got 8 points on my drivers license causing my car insurance to go through the roof. i got off of probation or anything like that because i guess the judge realized how fucked up this situation was.

the whole thing cost me months of my time and over 5,000 dollars that i wont ever get back all because arizonas police force and justice system is completely corrupt.

i didnt do anything to harm anyone else on the road. in fact, i did the responsible thing by pulling over and asking for help. most people who get arrested are the assholes who dont give a shit about other people. i was taking them into consideration and making the safest possible decision.

they just need to legalize the herb and cut all these bullshit laws. it doesnt do any harm. alcohol is responsible for tragic deaths of countless people and it is legal and enforced way more leniently than mary jane. cant these politicians finally get something right for once and just legalize it?

[Ms.Fox]

You're right. ;-) Legalization is the key here. I bet you don't drink those energy drinks anymore. I can't drink them either. They make my anxiety go through the roof! ;-)

[Cabbage]

haha i haven't had an energy drink since that day!

[Weed420]

Don't feel bad. Its not just Arizona. All states are corrupt. I'm sure you had a blood test while in the hospital. It would have come up negative for thc and that should have been all you needed to get off.

[RooRman]

First, you need a lawyer.

Second, the state has the burden of proof for proving you were DUI. Usually a home urine test will not qualify and a more strict hair follicle, saliva, or blood test is necessary. Obtain the official hospital documents citing that you tested negative, this is crucial in an adequate legal defense.

Third, I too have a history of mysterious heart "problems" and it is nothing to fool around with. Go see a cardiologist and have an echocardiogram and stress test done. I limit myself to 2 caffinated beverages per day and avoid energy drinks like the plague. Luckily nothing is physically wrong with my heart, but you really need a doctor (specialist) to rule that out.

[rad1j]

wait till the day when finally someone finally says how bad these drinks are for u,it makes me laugh at what is legal,add e=drinks to the on going list cigs,booze,prescript drugs,etc...,these drinks are going to be a big killer in the future,if you get like that after 1 what will 5 years bring you?the justice system is what you pay for you get what you shell out the more you spend the less sentence,the only crime here is being done by the law,your only real crime?not shelling out enough cash!

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by rad1j

wait till the day when finally someone finally says how bad these drinks are for u,it makes me laugh at what is legal,add e=drinks to the on going list cigs,booze,prescript drugs,etc...,these drinks are going to be a big killer in the future,if you get like that after 1 what will 5 years bring you?the justice system is what you pay for you get what you shell out the more you spend the less sentence,the only crime here is being done by the law,your only real crime?not shelling out enough cash!

yeah man, its ridiculous. my doctor even tried to get me to file a class action law suit going against the energy drink company

[rad1j]

yea that way you get to fill the pockets of lawyers who dont give a hoot about you just the money, it SUCKS