How Do California DUI Laws Relate to Prescription Medications?
DUIs are a serious legal matter, regardless of whether the accused is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, or prescription drugs. If you’ve been charged with a DUI in Orange County, CA, you need to take these charges very seriously and retain professional legal counsel to represent your legal rights.
In most DUI cases, people assume that the offender was being careless with their lives and the lives of others by drinking too much or taking illicit substances before getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. However, a DUI offense can also result from nothing more than the ordinary amount of prescription medication that you take daily.
Prescription drug DUIs are frequently charged as misdemeanors in California. However, a DUI offense that results in bodily injury or death could come with more severe consequences and be charged as a felony. Felony DUI charges come with penalties and punishments that could impact you for the rest of your life.
If you are facing DUI charges, please contact our criminal defense law firm to discuss your legal issues with our attorneys. Our legal team has extensive experience representing clients in various defense matters, including DUI cases involving prescription meds. Schedule your free initial consultation by contacting our Tustin-based law office today.
What Types of Prescription Drugs Commonly Cause Drowsy Driving or Delayed Reactions?
When a doctor prescribes medication to an individual, it is usually to treat a serious medical condition for legitimate reasons. While that may be true, sometimes these medications can cause drowsy driving or delayed reaction times, giving the impression to others that the driver is impaired.
Common medications that can affect a motorist’s driving ability include the following:
- Antidepressants such as Trazodone, Prozac, Paxil, and more
- Medicines containing CBD
- Muscle relaxants and anti-anxiety medications, such as Valium or Xanax
- Pain relievers or painkillers, such as oxycodone, Vicodin, morphine, or codeine
Prescription marijuana, OTC sleeping pills, Ambien, cough medicine, Vicodin, and oxycodone are among the most common drugs that lead to DUI charges.
In general, anti-anxiety drugs, painkillers, and psychotropic drugs are the prescription meds most commonly associated with drowsiness and delayed reactions. Nonprescription drugs, such as Benadryl or Dramamine, can also dull a motorist’s alertness and delay response times.
Under California law, any substance or combination of substances that could affect the nervous system, brain, or muscles of the driver and impair their abilities could result in a DUI offense.
How is Impairment Determined Without a Legal Limit?
There is a legal limit for how much you can drink before driving in California. In instances of drunk driving, a police officer commonly asks motorists to take a breathalyzer test to determine their blood alcohol content. If it is above the legal limit, they can be charged with DUI. However, there are no set legal limits for prescription drugs in relation to driving, and how much an individual takes may vary from person to person and from substance to substance.
So, the question becomes, how does a police officer determine if a motorist is impaired from prescription drug use? In most cases, it is up to subjective interpretation of the motorist’s behavior.
The police officers may look for the following indicators of impaired driving:
- Confusion about where the driver is or what is happening
- Difficulty speaking or slurred words
- Dilated pupils, pinpoint pupils, bloodshot eyes, or non-reactive pupils
- Involuntary muscle movements or shaking
- Unexplained slow response times when answering questions or being asked to perform a task
What Are the Potential Penalties for DUI Charges Involving Drugs?
The potential penalties for a prescription drug DUI may vary depending on your past criminal history or any prior convictions for DUIs. Additionally, the involvement of any injuries or deaths related to the DUI offense can result in harsher punishments.
First-time offenders may get probation or a county jail sentence of up to six months, fines of up to $1,000, and required attendance and a drug education program.
If you are facing a second offense within a decade of the first offense, your jail sentence could be up to one year, fines could be up to $1,000, and you may be asked to attend a long-term DUI program.
A felony DUI offense could result in up to four years in state prison, fines of up to $5000, and the revocation of your driver’s license for at least one year.
How Can a DUI Attorney Help Your Case?
Even a misdemeanor prescription drug DUI conviction on a criminal record could have lasting implications on your life and hinder your future opportunities. Those hoping to keep their freedom, driving privileges, and future opportunities intact are strongly encouraged to retain professional legal representation from an experienced criminal defense attorney.
Our DUI lawyers have extensive experience representing clients in and around Orange County, California. Our years of experience handling DUI matters include cases involving prescription drugs, and we have a thorough understanding of the laws and potential legal defenses that may be applicable to your legal Issues.
To learn more about how we may assist you during this difficult time, please schedule your free, no-obligation case review today.
What Are Your Legal Defense Options?
Anytime you are charged with a criminal offense, hiring professional legal counsel to represent your interests in a court of law is necessary. An experienced DUI lawyer will explain your legal options, discuss the pros and cons of the various options set before you, and provide dedicated legal advice to inform you on how to proceed with your case.
Potential legal defense options include the following:
- Arguing that the police officer did not have probable cause to conduct a traffic stop
- Challenging field sobriety tests or chemical tests as inaccurate
- Establishing that a medical condition mimics the signs of impairment
- Proving that you were acting in accordance with the instructions given by your doctors
- Showing that the medication you were taking has no impairment effects
Maintaining comprehensive records and documentation relating to prescribed medications is essential, including warnings about potential impairment, dosage instructions, and pharmacy instructions.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyers Today
If you have been charged for driving under the influence of prescribed medication, you may have a more complicated legal case than those accused of drinking and driving. But that does not mean you are without hope. With the right legal representation, it is possible to challenge the evidence and accusations made against you in hopes of clearing your name and dismissing the case.
Our Orange County law firm has extensive experience representing DUI cases, including those involving prescription medications. To discuss your case in more detail, please contact our legal team to schedule your free case review today.
You may reach us at 714-294-0599.
