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Colorado, has established two types of dui violations with which drivers can be charged and a, third, lesser charge called driving while ability impaired (dwai). Most drivers who are arrested will be charged with both types of dui violations in order to increase the chances of conviction. If you took a breath test your summons will probably contain charges under § 42-4-1301 (1)(a), C.R.S. "Drove Vehicle Under the Influence" and § 42-4-1301 (2)(a) "Drove Vehicle with Excessive Alcohol Content."
The first type of dui charge, § 42-4-1301(1)(a), C.R.S.,relies upon outward signs of intoxication, e.g., bad driving, poor coordination, "blood shot, watery eyes and slurred speech." A prosecution under this section does not require a chemical test for for conviction, although the chemical test can be used to establish a presumption of guilt. The prosecutor will usually attempt to obtain a criminal conviction under 42-4-1301(1)(a) even if the accused refused to take a chemical test when stopped by the police.
The second type of dui charge, § 42-4-1301(2)(a), C.R.S., involves the use of a "blood or breath alcohol concentration" (BAC) limit. Colorado has established a "legal limit" of 0.08 BAC above which drivers are automatically considered to have been "driving under the influence" (dui). "Drove with excessive alcohol content" also called "DUI per se" refers specifically to this part of the statute. Under the "per se" concept, you can be convicted of drunk driving solely upon proof that a level of 0.08 BAC was reached within two hours of driving - regardless of whether the driver was actually drunk when behind the wheel! For this reason, a successful defense strategy often centers around getting any chemical test excluded from evidence at trial.
The third type of charge is not a dui charge strictly speaking. Driving while ability impaired (DWAI) applies at lower levels of intoxication, i.e., 0.05 to 0.08 BAC. See § 42-4-1301(1)(b), C.R.S. To prove DWAI the state must show that the driver was less able than he would have normally been to drive with safety to himself or others!
I haven't mentioned any limits for drugs (duid) because there are none. If a urine, saliva or blood sample comes back positive for an intoxicating drug, the police and district attorney will likely try for to convict you of duid. I have known some unscrupulous district attonreys to charge people with duid if over-the-counter drugs such as allergy medicines show up in their urine sample!
The good news is that Colorado, unlike most states, requires that a second sample of any breath or blood test must be kept for one year. All persons charged with alcohol or drug related driving offenses should have their samples retested. Errors, even with blood samples are not uncommon. I routinely have every client's sample retested. I have found retesting to be well worth the extra trouble and expense since between five and ten percent of police test results are plain wrong. The payoff for retesting is that it can get your case dropped or result in a non-alcohol plea bargain. Some prosecutors will "dump" a dui case if you can prove serious problems with the reliability of the chemical test!