I can be charged with a DUI just for taking my medicine?
At least once a week I have someone ask me incredulously, "I can get a DUI just by driving while taking my prescriptions? But they are legal!" Hard as it is to believe, you can be DUI just for taking your prescriptions, even if you take them as prescribed.
You could be charged with DUI Drugs Less Safe
In Georgia, if you are driving while under the influence of a prescription drug to the extent you are driving less safe than if you had been driving without taking the drug, then you could be charged with DUI Less Safe Drugs. (OCGA § 40-6-391(a)(2))
Even if you are legally prescribed the drug? Yes. Even if you took it according to your doctor's instructions? Yes.
What will they argue? How will they prove I was DUI just for taking my medicine?
In these cases, the evidence would be the officer's observations, your driving manifestations, your performance on the standardized field sobriety test, and your results on the state administered test if you consented to taking the test. In Georgia, there is no hard and fast Per Se limit for legal prescription drugs. That's why the details matter and why these cases are more complicated than other DUI cases.
In order to show beyond a reasonable doubt on DUI Less Safe Drugs cases, the state must show you were a less safe driver than had you not taken the drug. This requires expert testimony. This may be a Drug Recognition Expert officer (DRE), a toxicologist, or a doctor. Defense of these cases require an attorney that is familiar not only with the law but with the qualifications of the experts the state may call in the case, the effects of the drugs, and the scientific terminology that will be used be the state's experts.
Penalties for DUI Prescription Drugs
The criminal penalties for DUI prescription drugs is the same as for alcohol. See 1st DUI, 2nd DUI, 3rd DUI, and Felony DUI for more information.
However, you will be facing different license suspensions if your case involved any type of controlled substance.
- First conviction in 5 years - mandatory 180 day suspension (6 months). For reinstatement, must take a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pay a reinstatement fee of $210.
- Second conviction in 5 years (measured from arrest to arrest) - 3 years but may apply to get reinstatement after 1 year from date of conviction. Must take a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program and pay a reinstatement fee of $310.
- Third conviction in 5 years (measured from arrest to arrest) - considered a habitual violator
(OCGA 40-5-75)
Why should I hire Bray Law?
Attorney Bridgett Bray has been trained by the top legal minds, GBI toxicologists, and drug recognition expert so that she could successfully prosecute defendants in DUI Less Safe Drugs cases. In addition to training, she successfully prosecuted numerous DUI Drug cases. And now, she uses this knowledge and experience to DEFEND you. She knows the science, the legal requirements, and the terminology. And she knows how to successfully cross examine any expert the state may use in your trial. Contact Bray Law now to set us your Free Consultation and let Bridgett Bray discuss how she can defend you.