If the individual wants to stop the bureaucratic procedure, he or she can appeal, but this takes a lot of time and money. The consequences are very heavy if the test turns out to be positive. Because THC remains in the urine up to 6 weeks, one can lose a driving licence because of a single joint taken some weeks earlier. If the person is caught while driving a vehicle, he or she is also sentenced to a fine of up to two million lire. Practically, anybody who smoked a joint some weeks earlier is punished as though he or she would be guilty of drunken driving.
Heavy consequences can also follow in the case of a technical fault.
CB appealed, maintaining that it was a technical mistake, she won the appeal, and got her licence back. But this happened after 8 months. In the meantime she lost her job. The real aim of this procedure has nothing to do with the issue of safety on the road. People who are caught by Form 3 often have their licence taken away, because they allegedly took drugs many years before.