Under Florida law, a person is guilty of driving under the influence if he or she is found to be impaired by alcohol, any chemical substance or any controlled substance listed in the Florida Statutes.

Many people are surprised to discover that the way the law is written applies to both alcohol and drugs. No matter what substance influences you — from beer to wine to marijuana or prescription drugs — you can be found guilty of drunk driving as long as your normal faculties are impaired.

The charge can be referred to by many names. These include DUI drugs, drugged driving or even DUID. Many different kinds of substances can be involved:

• Alcohol
• Marijuana
• Cocaine/crack
• Heroin
• Prescription anti-anxiety medications, like Klonopin or Valium
• Prescription pain killers, like OxyContin or Vicodin
• Prescription anti-addiction drugs, like Suboxone or Methadone

All the lawyers in the Whited Law Firm are seasoned veterans, so we know the law on DUI and what accused drivers can expect in Florida courts. When you talk with us, we will tell you what results others have experienced in cases like yours. While no two cases are exactly the same, we have handled thousands of drunk driving cases. We know what strategies work to protect people facing criminal charges related to DUI and drugs.

Proving Drug Amounts and Effects

In many cases, prosecutors face complications when proving the crime of driving under the influence of drugs. Science is unable to compare the amount of drugs to the amount of impairment caused by them. It is also unable to identify individual tolerance to particular drugs. Since different types and amounts of drugs affect people differently, police officers do not always know whether a person's ability to drive was impaired by the amount he or she took.

This is especially true in cases in which the officer making the arrest is not trained to identify drug signs and symptoms. If this happens, the defense has the power to stop the officer from testifying in Florida courts.

But I had a prescription! Police officers do not care if you had a prescription. If they believe that your abilities were impaired by a drug you took — even if your doctor ordered it — they will likely arrest you for DUI. At the Whited Law Firm, we often represent people who had no idea that they were allegedly breaking the law when they got behind the wheel.