All drivers must be aware that you can be arrested for driving while intoxicated from prescription drugs. DUI law, in general, comes down to two elements the state must prove at trial. The first is that the defendant was driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle, and the second is that they were under the influence to the extent that their normal faculties were impaired by prescription medication.
If you need an Orlando prescription drug DUI lawyer, call The Umansky Law Firm now. Our respected DUI attorneys are here to offer all the legal help we can.
Prescription medication refers to anything a doctor prescribes to a person, but that does not necessarily make it a controlled substance under the DUI statute. Just because their doctor prescribed them something does not necessarily mean they can get a DUI if they are on it while driving.
To get a DUI for prescription medication, it must fall under Chapter 893 or another statute that defines it as a controlled substance. An example that people often wonder about is Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Sometimes doctors will prescribe larger amounts of Ibuprofen, which can also be bought over-the-counter, but that does not necessarily make it a controlled substance.
We get people who are prescribed prescription sleep medication, and they take it too late, or abuse it because they like the way that it makes them feel. They are not using it to help them sleep, so we see a lot of DUIs for someone being under the influence of sleeping medication. We see a lot of Xanax cases, because people tend to combine it with alcohol when they are out partying. We also see Adderall quite a bit, as well as Benzos and painkillers.
Most of the time, if the state is not willing to agree with the defense or give the defense the benefit of the doubt regarding the effects the driver experienced, that becomes a question for the jury.
If it is uncontested that the driver was under the influence, but it was an unexperienced side effect, or it was involuntary, that becomes a question for the jury because, in most of those cases, the defense or the state does not see eye to eye. An Orlando attorney who works with these prosecutors all the time has credibility with them and can make their case in a prescription drug DUI matter.
Impairment is impairment, whether it the drug was prescribed to the driver or they use it illegally. They cannot drive if they are impaired by it. However, the judges and a lot of juries do look at them a little bit better if it is medication they were prescribed, because then at least there is no stigma of an illegal drug.
A toxicologist can act as an expert witness in a hearing on a drug DUI charge, testifying to the relevance and interpreting the urine or blood results. The lab result will show the different levels of the drug that was in your system, and a toxicologist is the only person who is qualified to explain the meaning of those levels to a jury.
The state and defense can both hire toxicologists. When the state hires them, it is for the purpose of trying to convince the jury that the levels are enough to cause impairment.
For the defense, we hire toxicologists all the time for the purpose of convincing the state, court, and juries that this was not enough to cause impairment or that it was a metabolite. That means it was not even the active drug that was present in the system, it was just an after-effect of being under the influence in the past. That can provide a good defense in these cases because scientific expert witnesses are very respected by jurors. Rather than just speculation, the jurors get to hear from someone who has that scientific knowledge.
The penalties for a prescription drug DUI conviction in Orlando is the same as alcohol, marijuana, and any other type of drug DUI charges, and may include probation, fines, classes, community service, license suspension, and court costs. Our criminal defense attorneys will do everything possible to minimize or prevent penalties from a conviction.
We have had many cases where someone gets charged with a misdemeanor DUI, but they end up in felony court because the officer searched their vehicle and found pills that did not belong to them, or cocaine, which could rise to the level of felony possession.
No matter what caused an officer to pull you over, you have the right to mount a defense. Call an Orlando prescription drug DUI lawyer for more information.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
