What You Need To Know If You’re Charged With A DWI While On Prescription Drugs In Texas

In this article, you will discover:

How Texas law enforcement determines DWI impairment from prescriptive medications.
How a prosecutor would prove impairment from a prescription medication in a DWI case.
The penalties for a prescription DWI conviction.

How Do Texas Officers Determine Impairment From Prescription Medication During A DWI Stop?

Often, officers will simply guess. If an officer suspects you are intoxicated or impaired and there’s no evidence it’s due to alcohol, they will immediately suspect that you’re impaired because of prescription drugs or illegal drugs. They’ll also ask you questions and look into the car for any prescription drug containers or pill bottles.

Officers will also ask you if you’re on any medications. Typically, people admit to this. They assume that because a medication was legally prescribed, it’s okay to drive while medicated, and they can’t be guilty of driving while intoxicated.

What Is The Legal Definition of Intoxication In Texas?

In Texas, intoxication in Texas is defined as…

Not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties
By reason of the introduction of alcohol, drugs, controlled substances or any other substance
This is true whether the intoxicating element was prescribed or not, over the counter or not, or obtained legally or illegally

The Texas definition of intoxication is more than impairment: it’s not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties. You may have medication legally prescribed by your doctor, but if that medication causes you not to have normal use of mental or physical faculties, that’s proof of intoxication.

That doesn’t stop officers from arresting people every day for not rising to the level of being intoxicated. Because officers don’t have sufficient training on the effects of different medications, they may arrest you if they think you’ve had any medication that impacts your thinking, motor functions, or judgment.

What Role Do Probable Cause And My Fifth Amendment Rights Have In A DWI Stop?

If you’re stopped for DWI, you must exercise your right to remain silent and not answer any questions. You have this right under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. When an officer asks you a question, say, “I invoke my right to remain silent.” Invoking your Fifth Amendment rights can never be used as a reason to detain you further or arrest you.

In the context of a DWI stop, probable cause means that an officer has a reasonable belief, based on facts and circumstances, to believe that you may be driving while intoxicated. If an officer doesn’t have sufficient probable cause to arrest you, they might use an admission of being medicated or physical evidence, such as a prescription bottle, as evidence that you are intoxicated.

In some cases, the officer may even search your car or look through your purse for a prescription bottle after you have been arrested.

Who Are “Drug Recognition Experts”, And What Do They Do?

You may also encounter officers who are “drug recognition experts” (DREs). These officers have taken training to recognize signs of impairment from drugs or alcohol. DREs are supposed to follow a series of steps to determine if a person is intoxicated from a drug, controlled substance or medication. Some of the steps are not accurate or reliable, and many of them are not properly administered.

The officers who have been through the DRE training are generally quite confident in their ability to detect impairment. However, most of the protocols they use are highly debatable and may not reveal evidence of intoxication at all.

Can I Be Charged With DWI In Texas If My Medication Was Legally Prescribed?

You can be charged with DWI even if your medication was legally prescribed. In Texas, the definition of intoxication includes not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties, even if this occurs by reason of a legally prescribed medication, drug or over-the-counter substance.

Many over-the-counter medications, such as Benadryl, can cause drowsiness. If you admit to taking Benadryl, that might be the evidence an arresting officer uses to claim that you seemed drowsy.

How Does The Prosecution Prove Prescription Drug DWI Impairment?

Typically, the prosecution will need a blood test that shows the presence of the drug or medication. The prosecution will also need an expert (such as a toxicologist) with sufficient training on the effects of different medications or drugs. This expert will have to testify that, at a given level, this drug or medication may cause intoxication.

For all drugs, medications, and even marijuana, no dose per se causes impairment. Often, you may develop a tolerance to a drug or medication, even one that may initially cause drowsiness or impairment. When you become accustomed to that drug by taking it over time, you become tolerant of it, and it does not cause intoxication anymore.

As a drug is processed in the body, it is metabolized into different substances and breaks down into other drugs or other chemicals. We can show from the level of those metabolites or chemicals in a blood test that the level in your blood is consistent with a therapeutic dosage of that drug taken over time and that the dosage is not necessarily a level that causes intoxication or impairment.

What Are The Penalties For A Prescription Drug DWI Conviction In Texas?

Penalties for a prescription drug DWI conviction in Texas are the same as a DWI involving alcohol. A first-time DWI involving prescription drugs would carry a punishment of anywhere from three days up to 108 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. A second DWI involving prescription drugs would carry a punishment of 30 days up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000. In both situations, probation is a possibility.

Notes From The Field: Why Hiring An Experienced DWI Lawyer Is Critical

It’s imperative to hire a DWI lawyer with experience handling prescription drug-related charges because the legal issues at hand are quite specific and different from any other type of DWI charge.

Your attorney must have expertise in blood testing. They need to know and understand that there’s no specific level of a prescription drug that causes intoxication, and metabolites can indicate a therapeutic level consistent with a proper dosage over time that does not cause intoxication.

Your attorney must know how to present their experts and cross-examine the state’s experts to demonstrate they don’t have proof of intoxication merely because there may be some level of prescription drug in the blood test.

An attorney must also have experience with prescription drug DWI cases to succeed in defending them. We’ve actually won prescription drug DWI cases and drug intoxication manslaughter cases by showing that the metabolites were consistent with a therapeutic dosage and that the prosecution failed to prove the level of the prescription drug in the blood caused any intoxication.

Still Have Questions? Ready To Get Started?

For more information on DWI charges while on prescription drugs in Texas, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (682) 357-8591 today.

Attorney Gary Medlin is an experienced lawyer based in Fort Worth and Arlington, TX, who has helped countless clients just like you navigate the intricacies of DWI law. With decades of experience, he is prepared to assist you in fighting your prescription DWI charge so that you can protect your reputation, driving privileges, and your rights.

Still have questions? Ready to get started? Contact the Medlin Law Firm today to schedule an initial consultation.