Articles Tagged with drug recognition experts

Michigan drug recognition experts, usually called DREs, are police officers trained to investigate suspected drug-impaired driving. In the right case, police may combine roadside observations, field sobriety tests, a DRE evaluation, and chemical testing to try to prove an OWI based on drugs. But those pieces of evidence do not all prove the same thing. Presence of a drug is not the same as actual impairment, and in marijuana cases that distinction matters a great deal.¹²³⁴

What Is a Michigan Drug Recognition Expert?

Michigan drug recognition experts are defined broadly by statute, but the courtroom question is usually more specific. Under MCL 257.625t, the term means a law enforcement officer trained to recognize impairment in a driver under the influence of a controlled substance rather than, or in addition to, alcohol.¹ The Michigan State Police Drug Recognition Expert Program, however, describes a more structured certification path. MSP explains that applicants must complete SFST and ARIDE prerequisites, DRE classroom training, field certification training, and biannual recertification.²