While DUI is most often associated with alcohol, drivers under the influence of drugs have become an increasingly visible problem in the United States. Recognizing changing cultural trends, most states have implemented legislation specifically addressing drug-impaired driving distinct from alcohol-impaired driving. The drugs in question can be illicit drugs like marijuana or cocaine, but can also be legally prescribed drugs if found to be in high enough concentrations in the body.
Like alcohol-related DUI, the successful prosecution of drug DUIs rely on the results of toxicology tests that measure the concentration of a particular drug in the blood stream. Drivers found with blood drug concentrations above a statutory limit are considered impaired drivers, and are charged accordingly.
While officials have developed a relatively clear understanding of the effects of alcohol in specific concentrations in the body, the effects of various drugs in varying concentrations remain opaque. In a report on the current state of drug-impaired driving cases by the NHTSA, the Administration clearly states: “There is no clear correlation between blood drug concentrations and impairment for many drugs.”
Understandings about alcohol have benefitted from years of research, and the scientific and legal communities have established a generally accepted and easily quantifiable level that constitutes “impaired driving.” The effects of drugs on the system, especially illegal drugs, remain comparatively mysterious. Research on the topic is hampered by ethical questions relating to the administration of these drugs to test subjects, and the medical, legal and scientific communities have not reached consensus about body tolerances to various drugs. In short, the current statutory minimum allowable levels of blood drug concentrations are somewhat arbitrary in many cases.
Research on the subject is ongoing. While scientific knowledge is narrowed and fine-tuned, law enforcement relies heavily on less quantifiable evidence such as DRE examinations, field sobriety tests and observed driving behavior in prosecuting drug-related DUI cases.
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