Drug Crimes Attorney in Eagan, Minnesota

Are there any prescription drugs that I can still operate a motor vehicle legally?

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The answer to the question is yes, you can take your prescriptions and still legally operate a motor vehicle. You need to be concerned, however, any time you’re on prescription medications and you come into contact with the police. Despite the fact that our mother told us never – you should never lie to a police officer, it is okay not to tell the police officer something. So you don’t have to lie, but there are times when you are better off keeping your mouth shut. And one of those, of course, is if you’re actually taking prescription medication. Not because you’re doing something wrong and not because you’re being naughty. It is because there are other ways to interpret your driving behavior.

I’ve had cases where a person who’s just tired in the office or asked ’em, “Are you taking medications?” And they indicated that they were taking an antianxiety medication, which can also give you that same appearance of being tired. But now that person’s left to fight about whether their tired appearance was because they were tired or because they happened to take their antianxiety medication. And that’s just never a position you’re gonna want to be in. You can take drugs as prescribed by your doctor. If you get a Schedule 1 or 2 drug in your system and you happen to come to a police officer’s attention, you can be prosecuted for DWI and have your license revoked under the Implied Consent Law simply for having that in your system. And then it’s your burden to come in and prove in court to the satisfaction of a jury that it was some other condition, not the prescription medication that was affecting you, or that you actually had a prescription from a doctor. Not a position anybody wants to be in. So you have the right to be silent. Keep your mouth shut.

Minnesota criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Sheridan discusses the legality of driving under the influence of prescription drugs.

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