The National Institutes of Health has a website devoted to the dangers of driving while drugged. It’s a form of impaired driving that is, in some cases, intentional and in some cases, completely unintentional.
Whether a person deliberately gets high by taking prescription pills they buy or take from another person, or whether they are inadvertently impaired by a medication prescribed to them by their physician, the reality is that an impaired driver can be a very dangerous driver.
The NIH points out that drug impairment alters the way our brains work: reaction time is slowed, judgment is clouded, balance and coordination are affected, as are our abilities to focus and accurately perceive what is happening on the road.
According a survey taken a couple of years ago, about 3.8 percent of U.S. adults and adolescents have “reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the year prior to being surveyed.” The good news, according to the NIH is that the rate is slowly dropping.
What’s the number one illicit drug drivers use? It’s one that’s no longer illicit for recreational use by adults here in Colorado: marijuana. Of course, we all know that driving while impaired by pot is a crime here, and can result in a DUID (driving under the influence: drugs).
Other drugs police report in DUID arrests include illicit opiates, cocaine and amphetamines. Among prescription drugs reported in cases of impaired driving are opioid pain relievers, anxiety drugs (Xanax, valium), sleep aids and even antihistamines.
Talk to your doctor about the potential dangers of driving after taking a prescribed medication. And you can speak with a Denver attorney about a DUID arrest, whether it involves allegations of illicit or prescription drugs. Legal options are available; your attorney can advise you of them and help you pursue the best from among them.