Prescription Drugs and DUI
Can you be arrested for having taken prescription medication. The answer is: yes. Say for example, you have severe allegries. You work 2 jobs. After getting off from your 1st job but before you began your 2nd job, you took some benadryl. Earlier in the day, you also took some Nyquil. Both pills cause drowsiness. Later that evening, you had a bad headache, so you popped a couple of prescription pills, which also cause drowsiness. After your 2nd shift, you drove home. Not noticing a car was right next to you, you changed lane and struck the vehicle. The police officer arrived on the scene. He asked you a few questions about what medication you had been taking. You apologized and admitted that you took some medication earlier: “It must have been XYZ that I was taking.” Unfortunate for you, you just admitted to having consumed prescribed (or non-prescribed) drugs. If the consumption of drugs, legal or illegal drugs, impaired your faculties: your ability to drive a motor vehicle, you may be convicted of DUI in DC and Maryland. T In addition, if you tested positive for certain schedule of controlled substance, you will be facing a mandatory time. So be careful before you pop an ambien and then your kid calls to pick him up from a football game.
It is, therefore, important for you to consult with an experienced DUI attorney who is familiar with the laws in the District and Maryland. We can evaluate your case, including probable cause for the traffic stop, search issue when the police offcer checked your physical symptoms and advise you from there. If you were taking a controlled medication as you were prescribed and are arrested for a DUI, provide us with that information. Get that information from your doctor; get that information about your prescription to us, so we may be able to provide a good defense in your case.