A lot of people believe that a DUI is for drinking, failing a breath test or getting home from a bar. However, in Georgia, a person can be arrested for a DUI even if the drug involved is a legal prescription drug. The medicine could be prescribed by a doctor, dispensed by a pharmacy and used for an actual illness. That is not enough to keep the driver out of trouble for a DUI charge.
That is why it’s so important for a prescription medication case to be thoroughly examined by an Atlanta DUI Lawyer. They are also more complex than an alcohol DUI case, as many times there will be no easy number such as a .08 BAC. A person charged with driving under the influence in Atlanta will need to consider the medicine, dosage, time of administration, medical history, comments made by the officer, field sobriety tests, and if the State can actually prove driving is unsafe.
The Georgia DUI statute is mostly concerned with whether the driver was less safe to operate the vehicle. That does not just mean if the individual was on drugs or not. The larger question is if the drug impaired that individual to the extent that driving was less safe. A DUI Lawyer Atlanta can go to bat for you regarding the disconnect between “this person took medicine” and “this person was legally impaired.”
Medications used for sleep, anxiety, pain, muscle relaxation, seizures, depression, ADHD or various types of prescriptions can be used in DUI cases. Over-the-counter medication can also play a role in a DUI case if the stoppers think that it had an impact on driving. A DUI Attorney Atlanta will be able to assess if the drug is responsible for the officer’s observations, or if the state is simply extending the evidence.
Typically these arrests start with an average driving style. A driver could drift slightly or drive too slow, hesitate at a light, turn too wide, or get involved in a minor accident. As the officer approaches, the driver may appear drowsy, nervous, or confused, or they may react slowly. Those are symptoms of drugs but they can also be caused by stress, illness, tiredness, old age, injury, diabetes, anxiety or just being pulled over by the cops.
That is where the defense will come in handy. An Atlanta DUI Lawyer can challenge the officer’s possession of the necessary evidence to ask for testing, reliability of field sobriety tests, and the physical state of the driver to render the tests unfair. Anyone who has a balance problem, back pain, leg injuries, neurological problems or anxiety may not do well, even if they’re not impaired.
Blood tests can also be subject to misinterpretation. A drug test can reveal the presence of a drug, but not having a drug in the system means you are not impaired. Prescription drugs can be found after the effect has subsided to varying degrees. Some people use the same medication for years and build up a tolerance for it. There are other people with a valid prescription who may still be charged with unsafe driving. As a general rule, an Atlanta DUI Attorney will be able to review to see if the test result indicates impairment at the time of driving or merely that a blood stream contained a substance.
Warning label on the drug can be an issue. If the label states that the person should not drive until he or she knows how the medicine affects him or her, the state may contend that it is an action that was known to the driver. That doesn’t close the case, however. A DUI Lawyer Atlanta can examine the issue of whether the driver had previously used the medicine, whether it was a normal dose, whether it happened at a time when it would likely have impaired the driver and whether the driving pattern actually indicated that the driver was driving in a manner which was unsafe.
Another issue is “mixed substances”. Someone can be on a prescription drug and also be high on another drug or alcohol. When you’re driving while impaired by a combination of drugs and alcohol, Georgia DUI cases can turn more serious because the state could say the combination of the two meant that you were less capable of driving safely. A DUI Lawyer Atlanta can check to see if the evidence supports that assertion or if the defense is on the basis of assumption.
Prescription medication DUI cases have the potential to impact professional licenses, employment, immigration matters, security clearances, custody issues, and reputation. The charge can make many feel uneasy as the sound of the charge resembles the use of an illegal drug even if it was prescribed legally. The defense needs to clarify that distinction.
Medical records, pharmacy records, toxicology report, dash cam video, body cam video, officer training, expert testimony and an in-depth traffic stop review can all play a role in a strong defense. The idea is to differentiate between reality and policymaking.
The point is: even prescription medicine can result in a DUI, the prosecution has to prove it, though. The use of a prescription does not mean that a person will be less safe to drive. A careful defense will be able to question the officer’s conclusions, the testing evidence, and the assumption that medicine equals impairment.
All those arrested for Prescription Medication DUI in Atlanta should move promptly. A qualified defense professional, such as James Yeargan, can take a look at the facts of the traffic stop, the testing results, and the medication issue. An Atlanta DUI Lawyer can help the driver preserve his or her license, reputation and future if a legal prescription becomes the anchor of a criminal case.
