Offenses under the Narcotics Act according to § 29 BtmG (possession of drugs or dealing) usually have administrative consequences for drivers license holders. Experience shows that only very few people are aware of this. Many think that the matter is settled with a fine or a suspended sentence. A mistake! As a rule, the person concerned receives mail from the driver's license office several months later.
Another classic case is a previous fine for violating § 24a StVG. For driving under the influence of drugs, the person concerned "only" receives a fine of 500 EUR and a driving ban of one month. The real problems only begin afterwards.
Loss of driving license due to drug use
The driving license authority has to withdraw the driving license in accordance with § 3 I StVG and § 46 I FeV if the holder of a driving license proves to be unfit to drive motor vehicles. According to § 3 para. 1 sentence 1 in conjunction with number 9.1 of appendix 4 FeV, holders of a driving license for driving motor vehicles of all classes are unsuitable if they have used hard drugs such as heroin, amphetamines or cocaine. Many are unaware that taking drugs – in contrast to drinking alcohol – is always illegal, not just when driving, and is contrary to driving fitness.
Special case: cannabis
As far as cannabis use is concerned, section 9.2.1 of appendix 4 of the German Driver's License Regulations states that applicants for and holders of a driver's license to drive motor vehicles of all classes are unsuitable if they regularly use cannabis. In the case of occasional use of cannabis, it depends on whether the consumption and driving of vehicles can be separated, and it does not come to an additional use of alcohol or other psychoactive substances. Occasional use of cannabis in the sense of no. 9.2.2 of appendix 4 of the German Driving License Regulation is deemed to exist if the person concerned has used cannabis in at least two separate instances of use and these instances of use show a certain, even temporal, connection. Even a single use of cannabis does not preclude fitness. From certain THC concentrations, unsuitability is assumed; this is to be assumed in any case with a THC value of 2 ng/ml in the blood.
Order of a medical-psychological examination
If regular cannabis use (and the use of hard drugs) is proven, the driving license can be withdrawn immediately. A milder measure would be to require the license holder to provide an expert opinion or screening within a certain period of time if they have used cannabis.
If the person concerned is required to undergo a medical-psychological examination (MPU), they must prove that they are suitable to drive vehicles in terms of their character. The MPU normally consists of a medical examination, a test-diagnostic part and an interview with a psychologist. The last part of the MPU is also the biggest hurdle for regaining the driving license. It is recommended to take an MPU preparation course, especially since experience shows that the failure rate is high the first time and the person concerned must be prepared for the questions asked by the examiner. The psychologist must assess the future driving behavior. If the psychologist comes to the conclusion that the person concerned will not take drugs in the future, then the person concerned has passed this part. In most cases, those affected play down the drug problem or deny taking drugs that have been detected ("got into the glass unnoticed"). Experience shows that these are the most common mistakes.
MPU and release from confidentiality
If the person fails the examination, their driving license will be withdrawn. However, a negative MPU should not be submitted to the authorities. Under no circumstances should the psychologist be released from confidentiality, otherwise he will also send failed assessments to the driving license office.
Application for reinstatement of a driving license
An application for the reinstatement of the driving license can only be made at least six months later. The relatively long period of time in between is intended to help the person change their behavior. To do this, the person must pass the medical-psychological examination. It is recommended that they can prove their drug abstinence through screenings (urine samples or hair analysis).
It is highly recommended to seek advice from a specialized lawyer and specialist in traffic law.
The statements represent initial information that was current for the law applicable in Germany at the time of initial publication. The legal situation may have changed since then. Furthermore, the information provided cannot replace individual advice on a specific matter. Please contact us for this purpose.