Published by Drug Driving Solicitors, specialist defence lawyers for drug driving charges across England and Wales
When benzoylecgonine is mentioned in your blood test result, you are probably facing an allegation of drug driving, and the first question is usually what it means. Benzoylecgonine is a substance created by the body during the breakdown of cocaine. Driving with too much of it in your blood is a criminal offence in England and Wales, even if you felt completely fine at the time.
Here, we look at what benzoylecgonine is, what the legal limit is, how it is tested for by the police, what penalties you could face and what you can do next.
The main metabolite of cocaine is benzoylecgonine (BZE). In other words, it is the chemical produced by your body as cocaine is broken down. BZE has no intoxicating effect of its own. Even so, its presence in your blood is strong evidence that cocaine has been used.
Police test for a number of substances in drug-driving cases, and BZE is one of them because of how closely it is linked to cocaine. It may be referred to on paperwork as BZE or as a cocaine metabolite.
Your body takes longer to clear BZE than it does to clear cocaine itself, which is why benzoylecgonine can be detected after the effects of cocaine have worn off. Feeling completely sober does not mean you will not have a measurable level.
Several factors affect how long it remains, such as how much was taken, how often, and your individual metabolism. A reliable "safe" waiting time before driving does not exist.
If the level is above the legal limit, yes. It is an offence in England and Wales to drive, or to attempt to drive, with a specified drug in your blood over its set limit. This offence came into force on 2 March 2015 and is found in section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations 2014 name the drugs covered and give their limits. Since cocaine and benzoylecgonine are listed separately, a charge can follow from either reading. There is also a separate offence of being "in charge" of a vehicle while over the limit, such as sitting with the keys in a parked car. That offence is endorsed as DG40 and has different penalties.
In England and Wales, the benzoylecgonine legal limit for drivers stands at 50 micrograms per litre of blood (µg/L), while the limit for cocaine itself is lower, at 10 µg/L.
Taking a zero-tolerance approach to illegal drugs such as cocaine, the government set limits at a level that rules out accidental exposure, not at one linked to impairment. Laboratory results are expressed as "not less than" a figure so that measurement uncertainty is allowed for. The limit should never, therefore, be regarded as a "safe" amount, because a driver may be put over it by any recent cocaine use.
Yes. All the prosecution needs to prove for the section 5A offence is that you were driving and that the level in your blood was above the specified limit. It does not have to show any effect on your driving.
A separate offence, driving while unfit through drugs, is covered by section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and does require evidence of impairment. Some drivers are investigated for both offences, so make sure you check which one you face.
Police are able to carry out a roadside preliminary drug test with a saliva swab, which screens for cocaine and cannabis. You cannot be convicted on a positive screen alone, although it does allow the police to arrest you.
A doctor or healthcare professional then takes a blood sample at the police station, and the sample goes for laboratory analysis. When you ask for part of the sample at the point it is taken, the law requires it to be divided so that a part can be given to you for independent testing. It can take weeks or even months for results to come back, and that is why many drivers are released while waiting.
Charged, or holding a blood result that shows BZE? Drug Driving Solicitors can go through your paperwork and explain the options available to you.
These cases go before the magistrates' court. Anyone convicted faces a mandatory disqualification of at least 12 months, an unlimited fine and up to six months' imprisonment. If there was a conviction for a relevant drink-driving or drug-driving offence in the ten years before, the minimum ban goes up to three years.
The conviction is endorsed on your licence with the code DG10. It stays on your driving record for 11 years from the date of conviction, and it is a criminal conviction as well as a motoring matter.
What this can mean in practice is much higher insurance premiums lasting years. Should you drive for work, your employer will be able to see the conviction on your licence.
Getting specialist advice before your first court hearing matters, because early decisions can affect the outcome, and that includes how you plead. A solicitor may examine whether correct procedures were followed, how the blood sample was taken, stored and analysed, and whether the evidence that you were driving is sound.
If you consumed drugs unknowingly, through a spiked drink for example, the court can take this into account in deciding the sentence. Strong mitigation may still influence the fine and the length of the ban above the minimum where a conviction is likely. No particular outcome can be guaranteed, as every case depends on its own facts.
After cocaine wears off, benzoylecgonine can stay in your blood, and a reading above the limit is enough to bring a charge, whether you felt impaired or not. The penalties are serious, yet how your case is prepared may affect the outcome.
Drug Driving Solicitors can give you clear advice on your situation if you have been charged or are waiting on blood test results.
What you have read here is general information about the law in England and Wales and is not legal advice. Please seek advice on your own particular circumstances.
For most people, yes. Being charged does not usually stop you from driving, as a ban only starts when you are sentenced. The court can impose an interim ban in the meantime if it convicts you but postpones sentencing.
Yes, they do. Driving above the specified limit is a criminal offence and not simply an endorsement. In addition, the DG10 code stays on your driving record for 11 years from the date of conviction, so it will be seen by employers who check your licence.
That option does not exist at present. The drink-drive rehabilitation course can shorten some drink-driving bans, but there is no national equivalent for drug driving.
Although prison is possible, it is uncommon. Under the Sentencing Council guideline, the starting point is custody only in the most serious category, for example driving commercially or with alcohol or another drug in the blood, combined with poor driving or obvious impairment. For this purpose, finding cocaine and BZE together counts as one drug.
Drug Driving Solicitors is a specialist law firm handling drug driving cases across England and Wales. If you have failed a roadside drug test and want to understand your position, call us for a free initial consultation or visit drugdrivingsolicitors.co.uk. Early advice costs nothing, and can make all the difference to the outcome of your case.