Driving Under Influence(DUI)
Refers to the act of driving a vehicle while intoxicated with an alcoholic drink. The impaired judgment brought forth by alcohol can cause an accident. Drunk driving is therefore outlawed in Texas. Drunk driving is endemic in the state. In the year 2016, there were roughly 15,687 Intoxication related crashes resulting to injuries. A soaring 64,971 arrests were made with a further 71,030 convictions conducted. There were however no DWI (Driving With Intoxication) refusals.
Notable Case
Cases of drunk driving have been rife in newsreels lately. Emily Javadi, a violinist was hit by a speeding vehicle as she left a workout facility in Uptown Dallas on 23 February 2015. She was rushed to hospital but succumbed to the sustained injuries hours later. The 23 year old, Travis Elwell, the driver, was charged with intoxication manslaughter. He was sentenced to 120 days in prison. Furthermore, he was directed to speak with DUI support groups and attend rehab program. The deceased’s family however, established the Emily Javadi Foundation to help create awareness on drunk driving and supporting the victims.The DUI laws in Texas.
The federal government of Texas has tightened the surveillance efforts targeting drunk drivers. The police actively stops drivers and measure their intoxication levels with breathalyzers. While some drivers know the legal implications of drunk driving, others get appear shocked when accused of the offense even when they are actually drunk.
The title 10 of Chapter 49 of Texas Penal Code outlines “DUI” as the state of not possessing correct mental and physical judgment capabilities due to use of drugs or alcohol. Police can use an array of techniques to gather evidence such evaluating the blood, urine and breath analysis. Information gathered during general observations such as the behavior, odor and appearance of the driver is also considered as evidence.
The penalties for minor DUI offenses have become stringent over the years with the increasing incidents. The first DWI offense attracts a fine of $2,000 with utmost 180 days in jail. Subsequent offenses have their penalties increased. Second DUI attracts a fine $4,000 with a one month to a year jail term with license suspension for three years. A third DUI offense brings a fine of $10,000 with 2 to 10 years in the county jail.
The Cost of Drunk Driving to the State of Texas
Immense resources are spent on education against drunk driving, attorney fees, vehicle impounding, and court bail fees. A compulsory DWI education program charges utmost $2,500. A driver whose driving license has been suspended has to depend on other forms of transport. A processing of $250 is also charged for renewal. Traffic events caused by DUI costs the state an estimated $43 Million in both in damages and life costs.
Heroin
Opium has been in use by man for centuries. Morphine is extracted from opium poppy plants and eventually used to make heroine. Among its first intended purpose was to treat sleeplessness, diarrhea and application as a painkiller. Then Heroin became popular in the streets, and clubbers often sniffed it for relaxation after a hard partying night out.
How the Hell Dust paid homage in the Lone Star State.
Opium fields in Afghanistan have been identified as source of most of the world’s heroin. Closer home, some of this heroin is processed in Mexico and gets shipped through the border by drug cartels into the hands of street gangs, prison gangs, organized crime groups and other individuals who deliver it to the streets of Texan streets of Texan cities. Due to this, three distinct brands of Heroin gets sold in Texas, according to the assessment done by the U.S Department of Justice. These are the Mexican black tar which is dark and Mexican brown powder heroine which is brown.
Heroin easily finds its way to the marketplace of the potential customers. It’s not the bad drug anymore among the Texan youths and elsewhere in U.S.A. The media, in some ways, glamorizes it as a cool get away drug. Heroin has even been processed to mimic typical medicinal pills. Figures from Drug Enforcement Administration indicate roughly 400,000 Texans took Heroin in 2016 Alone. This is a slight increase compared to 38,450 in 2015. This has been accompanied by family break-ups, conviction, violence both in families and the communities as well as straining the federal funding of rehabilitation of drug addicts and education.
Settling the Dust. Texas Heroin Laws
It is considered a felony if an individual is found with as little as one gram of Heroin in Texas. Being in possession of it with intent to sell earns the individual life sentence. A special drug court program was established by Texas lawmakers in March 2001 which provide an alternative for a jail term for drugs offenders. This is aimed at improving the lives of the offenders, treatment and preventing the offenders from sliding back to drugs.
