One thing to remember is that you can face a charge for driving under the influence if you are impaired by any kind of intoxicating substance, drugs included. However, if you didn’t know that you took a drug that would influence how you would react to your surroundings or weren’t aware that you ingested any kind of drug at all, then you may have a strong defense against the charges.
This kind of situation can arise when a person is slipped a drug by someone else. For example, if you were in a bar and didn’t keep a close eye on your drink, someone may have drugged it. Drugging another person’s drink is dangerous for many reasons, but one of them is that they could get into their vehicle and attempt to drive before the drug has taken effect.
If that happens, it could be only a few minutes before the driver starts to feel unwell. They might become disoriented or pass out behind the wheel. If they drive erratically, they could end up being stopped by the police or may crash their vehicle.
If you’ve been drugged against your will, that may be a defense to a DUI
If you were drugged and drove not knowing that you were impaired, you may be able to defend against a DUI. In that case, what may help is to tell the officer that you believe that someone drugged you. You don’t have to admit to drinking or ingesting anything of your own free will.
You should ask to be taken to a hospital to have bloodwork done if you are having severe symptoms caused by drugging. Certain drugs, like Rohypnol, may come up on a drug test up to 24 hours after the last dose. If you seek out a test, that test could help show that you were drugged by another person, since this drug usually isn’t taken intentionally.
It may be difficult to defend yourself against a DUI, but if you can show that you were drugged by another party, then you may be able to get the charges against you dropped as a victim of a crime.
