Many people do not realize that police can arrest you for Driving While Intoxicated on Drugs. In fact, I have had many clients show up to my office confused and upset after an arrest. These clients were surprised the police arrested them because they thought that DWI only appleid to drunk driving. These clients did not realize that the law, in fact, treats driving while high the same as drunk driving. In this post, I will review the law surrounding DWI. I will then review how police apply it to people they suspect are intoxicated on something other than alcohol. My goal is to demonstrate that DWI applies to drugs as well as alcohol so that you do not end up with a DWI conviction.
What is the Law behind Driving While Intoxicated on Drugs?
To begin this discussion, we must first review the Texas DWI statute. Under Texas law, a person is guilty of Driving While Intoxicated if they operate a motor vehicle, on a public road, while intoxicated. Intoxicated means: Having lost the normal use of one’s (1) Physical Faculties, (2) Mental Faculties, or (3) having a BAC greater than 0.08. Intoxication can occur through the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body. This is an incredibly broad definition. Under this law, police can arrest you for DWI if they think you are high on drugs but not drunk on alcohol.
What if I have a Prescription?
Note that the definition listed above did not make any mention of prescription drugs. This is because the law does not differentiate between intoxication on prescription and illegal drugs. This might seem unfair to some. After all, you can’t control how your prescription makes you feel. You have to take it and you need to drive to do just about anything in Texas. The problem is that driving while impaired can have serious consequences for you and others on the road regardless of why you are using the drug.
For example, many people have a valid prescription for the popular sleeping medication Ambien. It is perfectly legal for people to use this medication at home to sleep. It is not legal; however, to take this medication and then drive a motor vehicle. This is especially true if the user has already started feeling the drug’s effects. After all, falling asleep behind the wheel is equally dangerous whether impaired by alcohol or Ambien.
Prescription drugs that can impair a driver will come with a Food and Drug Administration warning. These warnings very clearly instruct users not to drive while on the medication. Prosecutors know this. Their argument to the jury will be that you knew about these risks and chose to drive anyway. This is strong evidence that the best defense attorney will have a hard time combating.
If you are currently prescribed medication that affects your ability to drive, then you need to exercise caution. A valid prescription does not shield you from the criminal liability of operating a motor vehicle while under that drug’s influence. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about the warning associated with your prescription drugs. You can also reference the FDA’s website to gain more details on drug labeling and warnings.
How can the Police Prove I was Driving While Intoxicated on Drugs?
There are several ways the police can tell if you have been driving while intoxicated on drugs.
Confession
First, you could simply tell the police that you have been taking drugs. In fact, this is the most common scenario that I have seen in my practice. Some of you might be wondering who would be dumb enough to admit this to the police? You might be surprised to learn that most people very quickly admit guilt the moment police start asking them questions. After all, most people don’t have any experience dealing with the police. They become nervous and scared very easily when under police questioning. This is especially true when they know the police have pulled them over and might arrest them for DWI. This feeling is incredibly common and does not make a person dumb if they end up saying more than they should to a police officer.
One thing to remember, though, is that you are not under an obligation to incriminate yourself. If police ask if you have been using drugs, you can choose not to answer. The police might still arrest you but they will not have your confession to use against you.
Field Sobriety Tests
Second, police departments train officers to spot signs of intoxication. Many police departments send their officers to highly specialized courses to help them become experts in DWI investigations. The courses include Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and the Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program. With this training, police learn to differentiate between intoxication on alcohol and all categories of legal and illegal drugs.
For example, if police suspect someone is drunk, they will check for things like a strong odor of alcohol or slurred speech. If police suspect someone is high, then they might also check for dilated pupils, perform tests aimed at measuring a suspect’s reaction time to stimuli, or perform tests to gauge a suspects awareness of the passage of time. Police can also administer the same Standardized Field Sobriety Tests that they give to drunk drivers to detect drug usage. You are not under any obligation to perform these tests. There is no separate crime for refusing to take these tests. The police might still arrest you if you refuse. However, they will not have this evidence to use against you at trial.
Blood Testing
Third, police can take a sample of your blood. After police arrest you they will ask you to voluntarily provide them with a vial of your blood. In Texas, you may legally to refuse to provide this specimen. Note that even though there are no separate criminal consequences to refusing, there are civil consequences. I have written about these consequences in a separate post.
If and when the police get a vial of your blood, they will send it to the State Crime Laboratory for analysis. Forensic Scientists can measure the type and amount of drugs in your system from this sample. They will then generate an official report that the prosecutor can use against you at trial.
Circumstantial Evidence
Finally, even if police cannot immediately prove a driver has been using drugs, they can use their observations to piece together what probably was going on. During a traffic stop police will look for clues of intoxication. These bits of evidence can include a strong smell of marijuana, a pill bottle lying in plain view, rolling papers or other paraphernalia in the back seat, or a driver’s blood shot eyes. These individual pieces of evidence might not be illegal in and of themselves. When an officer sees these bits of evidence all together in one spot, however, they can potentially develop probable cause to justify an arrest.
Conclusion
You need to educate yourself on the law and your rights before police pull you over for DWI. After all, you probably won’t have an attorney with you in the car to give you advice if the situation comes up. The main takeaway from this post should be that driving while intoxicated applies to both alcohol and drugs. I hope that this post has addressed some common misconceptions about DWI. If you ever find yourself facing this charge, do not forget that Carter Criminal Defense will fight hard to make sure you face as few consequences as possible.