What is the legal limit for benzoylecgonine?

Benzoylecgonine. It’s tough to spell. What’s even tougher is the sentence you’ll be handed if you’re caught driving with more than the legal limit of it in your system.

There’s a common misconception that benzoylecgonine is found in cocaine and is used as a bulking agent. In fact, it’s actually a metabolite that is made by the body when cocaine is broken down in the liver. Around 40 percent of cocaine is turned into benzoylecgonine.

In this blog, we’ll discuss the law surrounding cocaine use and driving, and what to do if you’ve been charged with drug driving in the UK.

Section 5A Road Traffic Act

Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act states that it is an offence to drive, attempt to drive, or be in charge of a motor vehicle with specified controlled drugs in the body above the specified limit.

The legal limit for cocaine is 10 micrograms per litre of blood (10ug). As it’s such a tiny amount, this is essentially a zero tolerance limit.

The legal limit for benzoylecgonine, on the other hand, is 50 micrograms per litre of blood (50ug). Benzoylecgonine is completely inactive, and even high levels would have no effect on you. The reason that the police test for this substance is simply because it remains in your system for much longer than cocaine, and is usually a clear indicator that you have taken cocaine within the last few days.

How long does benzoylecgonine stay in the blood?

Benzoylecgonine can be detected in your blood within 30 minutes of you taking cocaine, and will gradually rise over the following few hours. Within a couple of hours of taking a 35mg line of cocaine, you would be over the legal limit of benzoylecgonine.

Whilst cocaine is eliminated from the blood within 4-6 hours, benzoylecgonine can show up on a blood test for up to six days after cocaine use.

Drug driving sentencing guidelines

If you are found to be over the legal limit for benzoylecgonine, the penalties can be severe. Legal professionals like Faraj Defence Lawyers have an in-depth understanding and expertise in handling drug-driving cases.

Drug driving sentencing guidelines state that a conviction for drug driving comes with a minimum of 12 months driving ban, an unlimited fine and up to 6 months in prison.

Additionally, your driving licence will show that you’ve been convicted for drug driving for 11 years. If you drive for work, your employer will need to be made aware of your drug driving conviction.

Drug driving defences

If you’ve been charged with drug driving because your blood test showed that you were over the legal limit for benzoylecgonine, it’s vital that you seek expert legal advice as soon as possible.

There are several defences that can be used to effectively challenge benzoylecgonine cases. These include:

• Inaccurate laboratory results
• Benzoylecgonine can be found in tap water
• Blood sample stored for too long, or in inadequate conditions, resulting in higher levels of benzoylecgonine.
• Unreliable method of analysis.

For more information on these defences, take a look at our dedicated benzoylecgonine driving offences page.

Get in touch with expert drug driving solicitors

MAJ Law are a highly experienced team of motoring defence solicitors, specialising in drug driving cases, such as those involving benzoylecgonine.