Impaired driving charges can stem from drugs of all sorts

 Posted on November 27, 2017 in Drug Charges

Many people think of drunk driving charges as being associated with only alcohol. These individuals might not realize that they can also face drunk driving charges after taking drugs. Not just illegal drugs, but even legal drugs can lead to a drunk driving charge.

The point to remember when it comes to drunk driving charges is that anything that impairs your ability to drive can lead to a drunk driving charge. It doesn't matter where the substance came from if it has this impact.

When it comes to determining if someone is impaired by drugs, it isn't as easy as it is with a person who is drunk. Instead, police might have to rely on testimony from the person as well as field sobriety testing and chemical tests.

Chemical tests pose a unique problem because some substances will show up on blood tests and urinalysis testing long after the impairment has worn off. This can mean that a person could theoretically face charges for impaired driving when they were actually fine to drive.

No matter what substance you were taking when you were pulled over for drunk driving, you need to explore your legal options. If you are taking Benadryl to try to combat allergies or a pain killer to try to keep your pain under control, for example, you need to determine how it will impact you before you get behind the wheel.

You might be surprised at the options that you have for a defense. For example, you might be able to use the fact that you weren't on a public road if you were approached by police in your driveway. Maybe you didn't even have the keys in the ignition. These are fairly extreme examples, but it gives you an idea of the range of defense options you might consider.

Source: FindLaw, "You Can Get a DUI on Legal Drugs," accessed Nov. 17, 2017