DRUG DRIVING COCAINE BZE

Drug Driving Cocaine BZE – Geoffrey Miller Solicitors are specialist Drug Driving Solicitors. Call our team of expert drug driving solicitors for some free initial advice.

98%
Success Rate
Defending Drug Driving Blood
Cases^†

^†Defending drug driving blood cases from 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2025.

Our statistics

In comparison with cannabis cases, we deal with relatively few cocaine drug driving allegations. That being said, the numbers seem to have increased in recent years and our success rate matches that of the comparatively common cannabis cases. Since 2015, with the introduction of the offence of drug driving the Geoffrey Miller Team have dealt with 70 cocaine-related cases. Our success rate in that time is 94% and we have lost just 4 cocaine drug driving cases in 9 years.

Drug Driving Cases – Cocaine – 2015-2025	Won	Lost	Total
2015	0	0	0
2016	4	1	5
2017	3	0	3
2018	2	0	2
2019	4	1	5
2020	2	0	2
2021	10	1	11
2022	8	0	8
2023	16	0	16
2024	8	0	8
2025	9	1	10
Total	66	4	70

Some lawyers question the authenticity of our statistics but we know this says much more about them than us!

Our success rates are verified with numbers of cases involved and we monitor several aspects of the winning and losing cases to offer more detail for you to consider. We also have regional statistics and analyse the data we collect to be as clear as possible about our track record. Be warned though, if you have been told a random success rate for your case type (without any evidence to support it) e.g. 100% = (1 out of 1 case) OR you are talking to a lawyer who refers to the winning cases only.

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In the case of our statistics:

WIN means NOT GUILTY of the offence we were appointed to defend whether this is by way of a discontinuance, the prosecution offering no evidence, the court dismissing the prosecution or an appeal against conviction being allowed (we are regularly appointed to appeal convictions in cases lost by other lawyers).

LOST means the client was convicted and did not appeal or lost on appeal.

Cocaine and Benzoylecgonine (BZE)

There are two compounds to be aware of when dealing with a cocaine-related drug driving allegation and there is a different limit for each. Cocaine is absorbed quickly into a user’s system and is then similarly rapidly metabolised by the body. The limit for cocaine in the system when driving is 10µg per litre of blood. This limit is designed to facilitate the enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy toward cocaine use and driving. Though the limit is not zero, 10µg is thought to be low enough that any usage of cocaine would likely bring the user above it, whilst supposedly allowing for any accidental exposure or residue from another source.

When cocaine is metabolised by the body, a user’s liver will produce Benzoylecgonine, also referred to as BZE. BZE is formed quickly following consumption of cocaine and is then eliminated very slowly. Because of this, BZE can build up in the system of a regular user, further lengthening its presence in their blood. The limit of Benzoylecgonine in the blood for Drug Driving is 50µg per litre. Testing for this compound greatly increases the scope of prosecution for this offence.

The half-life of BZE means that it can be present in the blood for up to four days after cocaine usage. Benzoylecgonine does not cause a driver to be impaired and has no impact on an individual’s ability to drive safely. For the offence of drug driving whether or not a driver was impaired is irrelevant. The presence of the substance over the above-mentioned limit in blood is enough to secure a conviction.

Police testing

The police can conduct a preliminary test for cocaine immediately, in the form of a mouth swab at the roadside. They can do this if an officer has formed a reasonable suspicion that a person drove or attempted to drive, or, is in charge of a vehicle, on a road or public place, and:

Reasonable suspicion is difficult argue against. Officers commonly look out for several indicators that someone may have consumed cocaine, including;

dilated pupils,
dilated pupils,
clenched jaw,
tremors,
altered speech (speaking quickly or not completing sentences),
the manner of your driving (cocaine users are far more likely to be reckless, even in comparison to cannabis users) and;
general demeanour; cocaine users can be excitable, aggressive, irritable, overconfident and euphoric.

The drug swab test can detect both cocaine and cannabis and if it returns a positive result, you will be taken to the police station and asked to consent to giving a blood sample. This is because the swab test is not an evidential result that is accurate enough to be used as in a prosecution against a defendant. This is why the next step following a positive swab will be for blood to be taken.

Blood

You should always consent to providing a blood sample unless you have a reasonable excuse for not doing so. A reasonable excuse, could be a phobia of needles (a dislike of needles is not sufficient) or a medical condition, such as haemophilia.

Without a reasonable excuse, you will be charged and could face conviction for failing to provide a specimen which is a similar alternative offence.

Once you have provided a sample it will be sent off for analysis and you will usually be released to await the results. Once the result is received, the police will decide whether to charge you based on these results.

If you have a reasonable excuse for refusing to provide blood, there is currently no other specimen option for cocaine so the police would have to consider proceeding with the old style offence of driving whilst unfit through drugs. This is notoriously difficult as in this situation, they must not only have evidence of the drugs in your system in a urine samplebut they must also prove that you were unfit/impaired due to the presence of this.

Hospital Cases

In some cases where there has been an accident, the blood may be taken from you at hospital where there are much stringent procedures depending on whether you are conscious or unconscious. You may not be in a position to consent to the blood sample being taken in which case, you should be contacted at a later date for your consent to the blood sample being sent off for analysis. The police may contact you to arrange a formal interview to discuss the case and seek your consent to the analysis. It is always best to seek our input before you do anything in relation to a request for you to attend the police station.

Analysis

There are multiple issues that can arise with the reliability of the blood analysis process. Contamination is a significant risk with Cocaine and BZE.

When the blood sample is taken either at the police station or at the hospital, it is sent to a laboratory for testing. The blood specimen should be stored by police in accordance with strict conditions (in a fridge or freezer).

It is then transported to a forensic laboratory where it is stored, handled and eventually analysed by the laboratory. The analysis can take place several months after when a specimen was first obtained.

Does delay in testing a drug driving sample help my defence?

As explained above, cocaine in the blood biodegrades into BZE following any prolonged or mishandled storage of the blood specimen. Cocaine does break down in the system quicker than other illicit substances like cannabis and BZE. In cases where a sample has not been analysed within 101 days of being obtained, it may degrade from cocaine into BZE which would in essence, artificially lower the concentration of cocaine but artificially increase the BZE concentration. It all depends on how your sample has been stored after being obtained, during transportation and before being analysed at the laboratory.

To use delay as part of a drug driving defence, we involve forensic expert toxicologists to consider this issue in the context of how the blood was taken, stored and analysed by the laboratory. The analysis must be a safe and reliable result for the Crown Prosecution Service to rely upon it in securing a conviction and so if there is an issue with delay and deterioration of a sample, this will likely be a defence that will come into play at trial.

Consequences

If you are found guilty or plead guilty to driving with more than the 10ug per litre limit of cocaine, or 50ug of BZE, in your blood the consequences will be:

A mandatory minimum disqualification of 12 months. This minimum is increased to 3 years if you already have a similar conviction in the last 10 years (drink driving, drug driving, failure to provide).
An unlimited fine; AND/OR
A community order (commonly unpaid work); OR
A custodial sentence of up to 6 months (more often used for high readings and/or repeat offenders or offences with other aggravating factors).

If both BZE and Cocaine are detected in your blood, sentencing guidelines do suggest that you should not be penalized as having two distinct drugs in your blood. (The presence of more than one drug in your blood normally makes the sentence more severe.)

Arguments to avoid

It was my friend’s – exposure to others using cocaine is not a valid excuse and is negated by the fact that deliberate consumption is not necessary to prove drug driving.
I have a high tolerance – impairment is not in question with the specified limits for drug driving.
I drink coca tea – products that contain cocaine such as this can produce a false positive on an instant test, and do not cause the same levels of impairment. However, most are illegal in the UK and this is not a defence that would be successful.
Medical use – This is a reason that is much more often attributed to cannabis than cocaine and it is rarely useful for cannabis. For medical usage to be an excuse for any drug, you must have taken the exact dosage prescribed and obtained the drug legally. In the almost unheard-of event that a doctor has prescribed a class A drug, it is unlikely that it could be obtained legally in the UK.

Defending the charge

If you have been charged with drug driving relating to cocaine use, do not panic!

As evidenced by our above statistics, the Geoffrey Miller Team are experts in defending these charges and we are here to help! We pursue numerous defence strategies for drug driving allegations, many of which are unique and unknown by other law firms (even supposed experts in the field).

If you are awaiting your blood test result we strongly urge you to give us a call rather than waiting for a court date to come through! Many people who instruct us to represent them in drug driving cases do so before they are charged pursuant to our standby instruction option.

Whilst it can be tempting to wait and see whether you will be charged, we find that placing instructions with us at this early stage gives our clients the best chance of securing a not-guilty verdict at a later date.

I want to plead guilty

We can help you if you would like to plead guilty to the drug drive offence. We can aim to keep your sentence to a minimum and support you throughout the process.

Pleading guilty is usually the quickest way to get the drug drive matter dealt with and will avoid a lengthy trial. It is also the cheaper route and the main benefit of pleading guilty at the early stages of your case is that the Court will award you credit for this.

Any fine, community order or custodial sentence should be reduced by one-third if you plead guilty at the first hearing. The reduction does not apply to the disqualification period regardless of whether you plead guilty or are found guilty.

A well-structured plea in mitigation can highlight personal circumstances, lack of previous convictions, or steps taken to address drug use, all of which can help reduce the severity of the sentence imposed by the court.

The first one is free

We are always more than happy to chat things through with potential clients Free of Charge. Call us now on Freephone 0800 1389 123 to speak to one of our specialist motoring offence solicitors.

It is only once you decide to instruct us that payment will become necessary, and we can often arrange instalment plans to assist you. Many satisfied clients have thanked us for offering this free consultation service as it has prevented them from following inaccurate non-expert advice which could have led to them accepting a driving ban unnecessarily.

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Geoffrey Miller Solicitors are specialists defending drivers nationwide for all types of driving offences. Call our team of expert driving offence solicitors for some free initial advice.

You can also book an appointment with Jeanette Miller a.k.a. Miss Justice using our online booking system. If Jeanette is unavailable for your preferred date and time you can book an appointment with a member of our legal team. Please have as much information about your enquiry before the call e.g. Date of Hearing, Paperwork etc.

CALCULATORs

DRUG DRIVING BAN CALCULATOR

The Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Guidelines is a tool used by the Magistrates to decide on penalty. Try our drug driving ban calculator or other calculators to give you a rough idea of the penalty you could incur…

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Based on our 2020 market research you can use this form to calculate the likely costs including increased car insurance cost if you were to be convicted for drug driving...

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Use our calculator tools to find out what motoring offence penalties or financial costs you could be facing if convicted. Whether you’re concerned about fines, points, or driving bans, these tools provide a quick estimate based on your situation.

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PRICING STRUCTURE

We have developed a number of pricing structures to suit clients on most income levels. To some clients, minimising the level of their legal costs is as important as achieving your objective with an acquittal or damage limitation on penalty. The Finest Bronze Package is the lowest cost option we offer to all clients who wish to receive the very best legal representation but at a competitive price. Our goal is to provide clarity on costs upfront, so you know exactly what to expect.