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General Categories => Carry Issues => Topic started by: cracked junior on July 05, 2012, 09:54:18 AM

Title: alcohol use
Post by: cracked junior on July 05, 2012, 09:54:18 AM
First off I know guns and alcohol do not mix.   I was reading through the CHP regulations and laws.  it says "A permitholder shall not carry a concealed handgun while he or she is consuming alcohol or while the permitholder has remaining in his or her blood, urine, or breath any previously consumed alcohol or any controlled substance as defined in section 28-401. A permitholder does not violate this subsection if the controlled substance in his or her blood, urine, or breath was lawfully obtained and was taken in therapeutically prescribed amounts.

That got me wondering how long alcohol remained in the blood, urine or breathe.   Googled and found that one beer is detectable for 10 hours after consumption.  Well I was always told that it takes one hour to get rid of one beer.   so this is news to me.

With taking 10 hours to get rid of one beer.  I am thinking that most people do not realize that if you drink at night then the next morning put your gun on.  you are still breaking the law.

Its a really good thing that I am not a big drinker. Usually takes me a month to drink a 6 pack and usually only have a 6 pack in the fridge when the wife wants to make beer bread.   I get the left over beer. 

Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: gsd on July 05, 2012, 10:53:54 AM
My rule of thumb is simple. If i drink more than one the nignt before, i cont carry the next day.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: Mikee Loxxer on July 05, 2012, 12:17:44 PM
Alcohol takes longer to leave the body than most people think, apparently. Years ago I had a friend get thrown in Lincoln's drunk tank around bar closing time (1am), he was very drunk. Later that morning (11am) I went to sign him out. I was told that I would be responsible for him until 10pm that same day. That leads me to believe that if you have several (3-4) cocktails in an evening you still have alcohol in you blood until the middle part of the next day easily.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: NE Bull on July 05, 2012, 03:41:48 PM
Yep, my NE CHP has sure slowed my little bit of drinking to next to nothing.  If I plan on leaving the house in the next 8-10 hours, I don't have a "Nap-Cap".  I screwed up and bought a 12 pack last month.  I just finished the 4th one.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: birddogne on July 05, 2012, 04:45:03 PM
That also brings up the question, that if you have a CHP and have alcohol in your system but are open carring are you still breaking the law.

I'm sure you would be arrested and have to battle it out in court that even though you have a CHP you weren't carring concealed.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: Dan W on July 05, 2012, 07:53:34 PM
That also brings up the question, that if you have a CHP and have alcohol in your system but are open carring are you still breaking the law.

Here is the regulation:

Quote
019.04 A permit holder shall not carry a concealed handgun while consuming alcohol or while there is any previously consumed alcohol or controlled substance as defined in Nebraska Revised Statutes ยง 28-401 of the statutes in his or her blood, urine, or breath unless the controlled substance was lawfully obtained and taken in therapeutically prescribed amounts.

No mention of carrying openly
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: OnTheFly on July 05, 2012, 08:12:07 PM
Is it really 10 hours?  According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_alcohol_content) (if you can trust them), one drink (one beer for example) will give a 180 pound male a Blood Alcohol Percentage of 0.02%.  A note at the bottom of the page states

Quote
Subtract approximately 0.01 every 40 minutes after drinking.
So after about one and a half hours, wouldn't you be back to 0%?

It doesn't really matter too much to me since I don't drink very often, but the 10 hours seemed too long.

Fly
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: Mikee Loxxer on July 05, 2012, 08:55:17 PM
10 hours does seem a bit long. These other methods of an hour per drink,  0.01 % every 40 minutes after drinking, etc allude to the decrease in blood alcohol over time being linear which seems like an oversimplification. I would bet the curve is not linear at all.
In the case of the detox center giving a 10 hour timeline I'm sure they are just trying to reduce liability. These other methods are likely just simple ways to help one determine when blood alcohol drops to a "safe" level.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: AAllen on July 05, 2012, 09:39:08 PM
My guess is that alcohol leaves the body similar to how it boils off.  The old saying that if you add alcohol to something cooking that the alcohol is gone immediately is not quite correct.  It actually boils of at about 1/2 of its volume per minute so if you add one shot of liqueur to something cooking it has only half the alcohol after 1 minute, then 1/4 after 2, and 1/8th after 3 etc.  So it has a higher drop in the beginning and slows as time goes on. 

Of course there is also a limit of how low can accurately be tested for in your blood stream as well.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: cracked junior on July 05, 2012, 11:04:25 PM
Search for how long does alcohol stay in your system.    Several websites say 10 hours for one drink.   I thought it was long too.   One place says urine tests can detect it after 80 hours but the test cant show the amount.

I know several people who wont get CHP because of no alcohol. 
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: bullit on July 06, 2012, 10:55:50 AM
Personally opposed to EtOH and any firearms usuage in any time period, but remember you do have to consent to a breathalyzer or blood draw in the first place.....then up to the state to prove you have it in your system.  There is a lot of time passing before they'll get a court order for a blood draw.   I suppose unless the see or smell it on you i.e. reasonable articulable suspicion going to be tough to prove outside of you being sloppy drunk.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: OnTheFly on July 06, 2012, 11:16:36 AM
I guess that all makes sense.  In aviation we have a regulation that the pilots remember by stating "10 hours bottle to throttle".  I always thought it was just an antiquated and/or overly conservative rule, but I it appears there is a reason.

Fly
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: farmrboy on August 07, 2012, 08:09:06 AM
Everybody processes alcohol at different rates, so the time will vary from one person to the next to completely get all the alcohol out of one's system. The time can vary by up to a few hours. I have CDL, Fed BAL is .04 for driving a commercial truck. But I read plenty of stories about drivers getting cited for having any trace at all in their system. They don't go to jail, but they get a ticket and a permanent black mark on their DAK report. Some get cited for using mouthwash and the alcohol in the mouthwash shows up on a breathalyzer. So, that is something else to consider too. If you use mouthwash, switch to an alcohol-free brand since there is 0 tolerance for a ccw permit.
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: smitty81 on September 26, 2012, 10:22:43 AM
It says that you can not carry if you have alcohol in your system.

Let's say that I go to a friends house for a beer. Can I lock my firearm up in my jeep in the cargo area and still drive legally (not intoxicated).
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: SemperFiGuy on September 26, 2012, 02:05:10 PM
Smitty81

Your question brings out the stark fact that there is a lot of room between the cracks in the CHP laws.

The issue you raise is not specifically addressed in the law, so it remains for Someone to get busted by an LEO on that particular point.   Then it goes to court, gets decided.

From that point on, whatever the court case outcome might be, it becomes case law and serves as a settled point of law and future legal guideline for similar cases of the same nature.

You don't want to be the first guy.

sfg
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: JTH on September 26, 2012, 02:28:02 PM
It says that you can not carry if you have alcohol in your system.

Let's say that I go to a friends house for a beer. Can I lock my firearm up in my jeep in the cargo area and still drive legally (not intoxicated).


If your firearm is locked up, and the ammunition is separate from the firearm, you are no longer carrying concealed.  Instead, you are transporting a firearm according to allowed state and federal law.

I happen to always have a small transport safe in my car at all times for cases when I am forced to go into a place of business that doesn't allow self-defense tools.  If at some time I would happen to have some alcohol at a time I didn't expect (unlikely, but possible), I can also use that safe to secure my firearm once I have unloaded it (and separated the ammunition from the gun by putting it in a bag in the back of the car, NOT in the safe)---and suddenly, I'm not carrying concealed but instead merely transporting an unloaded firearm.

Different rules. 
Title: Re: alcohol use
Post by: smitty81 on September 26, 2012, 03:19:07 PM

If your firearm is locked up, and the ammunition is separate from the firearm, you are no longer carrying concealed.  Instead, you are transporting a firearm according to allowed state and federal law.

I happen to always have a small transport safe in my car at all times for cases when I am forced to go into a place of business that doesn't allow self-defense tools.  If at some time I would happen to have some alcohol at a time I didn't expect (unlikely, but possible), I can also use that safe to secure my firearm once I have unloaded it (and separated the ammunition from the gun by putting it in a bag in the back of the car, NOT in the safe)---and suddenly, I'm not carrying concealed but instead merely transporting an unloaded firearm.

Different rules.


Thanks for the great info. I bought one of those cable tie down hand gun safes for my jeep. I put it back by the spare wheel. Good to know I can throw it in there and put the magazine in the glove box and should be ok.