DUI of Prescription Drugs in California
Most people think of California DUI cases as involving "drunk driving." But the state's DUI law prohibits more than just driving under the influence of alcohol. The Vehicle Code make sit illegal to drive while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs or any combination of the two.
Driving under the influence of drugs is often referred to as "DUID" or "California DUI of Drugs." Some of these cases involve suspects arrested for driving while intoxicated by illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, crack cocaine or LSD.
But an increasing number of California DUI cases involve suspects driving while taking prescription drugs, even lawfully prescribed drugs. The two biggest trends we're seeing in DUID law are DUI Ambien and DUI Vicodin cases.
Many of the DUI Ambien cases involve "sleep driving." A person goes to sleep after taking ambien and maybe also a glass of wine, and wakes to find herself having driven somewhere while in a drug-induced trance. Most of the DUI Vicodin cases involve a person prescribed vocidin as a pain-killer after an injury or a surgery. He continues to drive as he normally does, but gets pulled over and cited for DUI.
Some people mistakenly think they can't be prosecuted for DUID if the drugs were prescribed by their doctor. Not so. California DUI law prohibits driving when your faculties are impaired by any substance: legal or illegal, illicit or prescribed. Nevertheless, a good DUI attorney can often find problems in the evidence and exploit them to get a DUID charge reduced or dismissed.
