Lawyer reveals the shocking amount of time that a single joint will put you over the drug driving limit

Drink driving is of course going to be something that the law punishes, but there are other substances which could land you in trouble if you take them and get behind the wheel.

Drugs both legal and illegal can put you above the drug driving limit, so you had best know your rights when it comes to this.

You are breaking the law by driving if you've taken drugs, whether legal or illegal, that would render you unfit to drive.

Even if your driving isn't impaired by them, if you have a certain level of illegal drugs in your bloodstream that's also illegal.

If you get stopped and tested then you could be charged with drug driving, and if the drugs you've taken are illegal then it doesn't even have to matter whether they were impacting your ability to drive.

When it comes to cannabis, cocaine, heroin, ketamine, LSD, MDMA, meth and speed, the UK has a a zero-tolerance approach to having it in your system while driving.

A test will still be carried out, but it has limits designed to rule out claims of accidental exposure.

TikToking lawyer @maj.law explained that all it'd take is one joint of cannabis to put you in the legal danger zone.

He said: "The legal limit for cannabis in this country is five times lower than it is for cocaine, and 10 times lower than it is for ket.

"It's so low, in fact, that a single cannabis joint can put you over the legal limit for the next three days."

If you did get caught drug driving then the punishment would be rather severe, getting convicted of drug driving will land you with a one year driving ban at the minimum.

For the next 11 years, you'll also have a mark on your driving licence which says you were convicted of drug driving, and you can also face an unlimited fine, as per Brake.

Obviously your conviction will land you with a criminal record, and you could face up to six months in prison as well.

So why could you be caught drug driving up to three days after smoking a joint then?

Tests of blood and saliva can detect cannabis in your system for between 24 and 72 hours after you took it.

If you're getting your urine tested then it can be detected for a period of between three and 30 days, while testing your hair follicles could produce results up to 90 days afterwards.

Saliva tends to be the common roadside test done for cannabis, so that's still going to ping that you've got it in your system for up to three days.