Do you take medication for anxiety? It’s becoming increasingly common throughout the US. Face it – modern life is incredibly stressful, and sometimes anxiety can become debilitating. Whatever you do, don’t just ignore it and try to muddle through. Anti-anxiety medications help many people get through their days – but you should be aware that there are various side effects and risk factors.
Impaired driving risks
Many anti-anxiety medications below to the benzodiazepines class. These include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and others. A typical dose of Valium, for example, is 10 miligrams, which results in impairment that’s equivalent to that of someone with a .10% blood alcohol level (BAC). The California blood alcohol limit is .08%, so if someone is found to have a BAC above that, they will be arrested.
So if you take Xanax, Valium, or any other anti-anxiety medication, you should speak with your doctor about potential side effects before getting behind the wheel of any vehicle. Just to be on the safe side, it’s probably best that you don’t take any anti-anxiety medication if you need to drive.
But what are you supposed to do? Just stop your life completely? Many American cities have very little public transportation infrastructure, and driving is certainly more convenient in almost all parts of the US and Southern California in particular.
Well, no… but you should be aware that the risk of getting arrested for DUI is there, particularly if you take other medications on top of your anti-anxiety one. Certainly don’t drink while taking anti-anxiety medication because your BAC level could quickly rise above .08%.
You could get arrested for DUI while on anti-anxiety medication
If a police officer pulls you over for allegedly displaying erratic driving behavior, then questions and evaluates you via field sobriety tests, he or she may conclude that you’re driving while impaired, even though you don’t have a drop of alcohol in your system. California law states that it’s illegal to drive while impaired from alcohol and drugs – both prescription and non-prescription ones. So even if you have a legitimate prescription for anti-anxiety medication, you could be arrested for DUI.
What if it’s already happened?
Perhaps you had no idea that you could be impaired while taking anti-anxiety medication. You were shocked when a police officer stopped and eventually arrested you for DUI. If that happened to you, don’t panic – just call Southern California’s best criminal defense attorney – Dan Chambers of the Chambers Law Firm. He specializes in DUI defense cases and has been dealing with cases just like yours for decades.
Start working with Attorney Chambers now by calling 714-760-4088, emailing dchambers@clfca.com, or using the chat box below. Your first consultation is free.
