Chantilly Prescription Drug DUI Lawyer

Prescription drugs are characterized as drugs for which an individual had a prescription from a doctor to treat and manage a condition or illness. Prescriptions are perfectly legal and necessary for the individual to have the drug in their system as long as they have a prescription for it.

However, just because a person has a prescription for a drug that is legal for them to consume, it does not mean that it is legal for them to drive under the influence of this drug if it impairs their driving.

Very strong drugs have a warning that state the taker is not supposed to operate heavy machinery, including driving a vehicle, while consuming the drug. If this warning exists, a person can be charged with driving under the influence, even with a prescription.

A Chantilly drug DUI attorney can help you, by understanding the subtleties of a prescription drug DUI case. A Chantilly prescription drug DUI lawyer can understand whether or not somebody used a substance, and whether or not they knew a particular drug cannot be combined with driving. This understanding can make a difference between whether or not somebody is found guilty and can impact an attorney’s ability to build a strong defense.

Prosecution’s Proof

For a person to be charged with a prescription drug DUI, the prosecution needs to present probable cause that the individual was driving under the influence of that prescription drug and whether that prescription drug was interfering with that person’s driving. The fact that there is a drug in a person’s system and the person’s driving behaviors can be used to imply that they were impaired.

In order to have a conviction for driving under the influence of prescription drugs, the prosecution has to prove something similar to what they have to prove for a regular DUI. They have to prove the issues that the individual’s driving behavior was impaired and the individual was exhibiting those symptoms and signs, but also the individual had the types of drugs in their system.

Penalties

The penalties for prescription drug driving charges are the same as they are for an alcohol DUI. First offense is going to be a class one misdemeanor, punished by up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail. Potentially, there is going to be a license suspension and more consequences, depending on the facts of the case and the person’s criminal history.

For this reason, it is important to have the help of an experienced prescription drug DUI attorney in Chantilly to combat these penalties.

Providing Prescription Information

It is important for the Chantilly prescription drug DUI lawyer to determine exactly what charge they are working with, the drugs that were in your system, and be able to talk to your doctors about the effects these drugs have on you. A prescription drug DUI attorney in Chantilly is going to need to have all the information possible, and that includes the prescribing information, the type of the drug, and any kind of dosage requirements. This will help have them have an accurate picture of not only the prescription and potential effects on you while you were driving, but also the drug itself and its effects on a regular human.

Without a Prescription

If a person does not have a prescription for the drugs that they were under the influence of at the time that they were driving, it could open the door to additional charges being levied. One of them would be drug possession for an illicit substance. In Virginia, the charges can include possession of the substance, driving under the influence of it, and having more of it in their vehicle. Depending on how much is on their person or vehicle, it also opens the doors for additional possession charges and potentially distribution charges.

Information to Provide

A Chantilly prescription drug DUI lawyer is going to need to collect all the information that they can to provide the best possible case for your defense. Besidprescriptionription information, they will need  information about what else the client was taking that day, what they ate, what they did, how much water they had and anything else that could have some type of effect on the drug’s absorption into the bloodstream and therefore into the body, showing its effects and at what rate.

An individual should be prepared to provide that minutia to their attorney. Additionally, any type of information about examples of these issues in the past or any kind of charges related to drug possession, prescription drug possession, DUI, and marijuana that would have something to do with substance abuse or substance while driving issue should be written down and given to the attorney, so the attorney can get a clear picture of what is going on in this individual’s case. Also, the person’s criminal background is necessary, especially if they have previous substance abuse issues that will have a serious effect on how both the judge and the prosecutors deal with the case.

In addition, a person should write down anything that they recollect from their specific time prior to the arrest, during the arrest, and after the arrest. For example, did their recollection change, was their perception at all impaired at any point in time, or were they exhibiting symptoms that they do not normally exhibit.

Any of the observations that the individual can remember and write down from the incident would be extremely helpful for the attorney to have, so the attorney could review with the information and decide what it means to present and build a potentially robust defense.