Xanax passes marijuana as second-leading cause of DUI

Well, I found this to be mind blowing. I had no idea that marijuana was the leading cause of DUI. How the hell can they tell if someone is on xanax>

Source

Last year, alprazolam was found in 29 percent of DUI cases, compared to 23 percent for marijuana. The percentage of DUI cases caused by alprazolam has held steady for the past three years, according to the data.

Well.. i guess now that they can't prescribe codeine and get people hooked on that one as easily they have switched to xanax.

One stop shop for big pharma! Get rid of one well get another!

Do these doc's have any ethics or how our schools become massive pharma indoctrination centers now> What happens if one of their pills doesn't work, forget it let em die or sit in prison>

a reply to: onequestion

Been awhile?

But I live in W. PA and I read in the police news all the time that some one was arrested while driving under the influence of a "Prescribed" drug!

Keep in mind, they did NOT have the drug illegally, but they had taken it under advisement of a DR? Yet there is nothing on these prescriptions that say it is "ILLEGAL" to drive while taking them? Just "USE CAUTION"?

So if it is prescribed, and the prescription says "use caution" how in the hell can the police arrest you for it?

A relative of mine is on Xanax and Ativan, all it does is make them even crazier. They can't remember anything of importance.

a reply to: seeker1963

I don't know this was a thought I had reading this article.

What if its a prescription>

I mean damn this place is falling a part the more I learn the less i want to know.

a reply to: seeker1963

If they can show you are impaired, it doesn't matter.

And you can tell when some one is impaired on xanax, they are just out of it.

a reply to: pavil

I'm on tegratol for bi-polar disorder and my mental acuity is shot, short term memory shot.

I might just tell the doc I'm over meds and i might just self manage with therapy because id rather be sharp and my memory is usually bar non.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: seeker1963

If they can show you are impaired, it doesn't matter.

And you can tell when some one is impaired on xanax, they are just out of it.

Then why does the prescription not say it is "illegal" to drive while taking it?

It's a grey area, and the corrupt justice system is winning!

Come on now! Why am I the one arguing with you on this matter?

a reply to: seeker1963

Because it is generally not illegal.


I can guarantee you that your doctor will tell you to see how you react to it before you drive though.
Because once you are impaired, it is a different story.
Also, if you take more then prescribed, it is now illegal.

Come on now! Why am I the one arguing with you on this matter?

Not sure what you mean by that.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: seeker1963

Because it is generally not illegal.


I can guarantee you that your doctor will tell you to see how you react to it before you drive though.
Because once you are impaired, it is a different story.
Also, if you take more then prescribed, it is now illegal.

Come on now! Why am I the one arguing with you on this matter?

Not sure what you mean by that.

Your sticking up for the man! That was my joke?

But yea, see what I mean? The doctor says to see how you react, the prescription bottle says "use caution" yet people are being arrested for driving under the influence?

See where I am coming from?

a reply to: onequestion

At least you are aware of what it is doing to you, my relative doesn't even realize how zoned out they are. It's like they have Alzheimers. Sad.

a reply to: pavil

Yeah luckily im very tuned into my thoughts and body.

a reply to: seeker1963
Totally see where you are coming from.
And don't necessarily disagree.

Just also answering how the cops can go about doing it.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
a reply to: seeker1963
Totally see where you are coming from.
And don't necessarily disagree.

Just also answering how the cops can go about doing it.

It's all good!

I realize that you and I are Batman and the Joker at times, so it does become strange when we end up laughing together and switching roles?

I have been taking benzos for 11 years for epilepsy and severe panic attacks, its actually nice to only have to take 1 med to control them both. In those 11 years I've only had 1 dosage increase, have been taking the same amount 2x daily for 7 years.

I have never once been incapable of performing any task you can name when taking the meds as prescribed. The only time I've been messed up is the 1 time I drank in those 11 years and I was so out of it I couldn't remember anything the next day, my family had to tell me how out of it I was. My point being these people getting dui's while on benzos are either abusing the drug or mixing it with something else.

Its almost impossible to od on benzos by themselves but when mixed with other drugs or alcohol it extremely easy to od and die.

It is possible the person spoke of in an earlier comment just got the meds and never had them before and was so messed up from having no tolerance she got pulled over.

My point is that I'm pretty sure 99.5% of people getting dui's on benzos are getting high on purpose and know they shouldn't be driving and deserve to go to jail. Its a dangerous drug, from that 1 experience I had while drinking I could have killed somebody and never remembered it.

And please if you take any kind of prescription medications and have children be responsible, keep them up where they cant be reached. If your children are older keep them on you, locked up, or leave them locked up in your car.

originally posted by: 772STi
I have been taking benzos for 11 years for epilepsy and severe panic attacks, its actually nice to only have to take 1 med to control them both. In those 11 years I've only had 1 dosage increase, have been taking the same amount 2x daily for 7 years.

I have never once been incapable of performing any task you can name when taking the meds as prescribed. The only time I've been messed up is the 1 time I drank in those 11 years and I was so out of it I couldn't remember anything the next day, my family had to tell me how out of it I was. My point being these people getting dui's while on benzos are either abusing the drug or mixing it with something else.

Its almost impossible to od on benzos by themselves but when mixed with other drugs or alcohol it extremely easy to od and die.

It is possible the person spoke of in an earlier comment just got the meds and never had them before and was so messed up from having no tolerance she got pulled over.

My point is that I'm pretty sure 99.5% of people getting dui's on benzos are getting high on purpose and know they shouldn't be driving and deserve to go to jail. Its a dangerous drug, from that 1 experience I had while drinking I could have killed somebody and never remembered it.

And please if you take any kind of prescription medications and have children be responsible, keep them up where they cant be reached. If your children are older keep them on you, locked up, or leave them locked up in your car.

You could be absolutely correct in your experience! Some of these people could fit in to the categories you described. It's the revenue generation that is demanded of our police departments that concerns me in my questioning!

a reply to: onequestion

another factor to keep in mind here is how they determine when someone has been driving under the influence, testing for marijuana in the system will turn up positive even if the driver hasnt ingested any in nearly 30 days, (roughly, give or take a few, depending) yet positive will be ruled under the influence, even though after ingestion it only influences you for less then a day.

xanax on the other hand is out of your system in a day, two tops....

so for it to be surpassing MJ is pretty incredible.

What caused the DUI charge for marijuana, driving 20 mph under the speed limit? Imagine how many fewer accidents would occur if we were all driving that slow, lol.

this is yet another problem with the massive industry that is prescription medication. the label will tell you, "do not operate heavy machinery until you know how ____ affects you". but in the eyes of the law, no one should be driving unless they are sober. so if you take drugs like xanax or a multidude of others, and you get into an accident or stopped by a cop, they can and will administer a blood test to determine if there are any drugs in your system. if they find something, regardless of whether or not it was a factor in the incident, you get a DUI. this is a big problem for the millions prescribed these drugs, because it is rather unreasonable to assume that a person taking them
will never drive again while taking the meds, and doctors do not outright say "well even if you know how the drug affects you, you can get a DUI for driving while taking it". it basically forces the person to choose between taking the meds or being able to drive themselves around day to day. it's unsurprising so many people do both, and pay the price for it.

a reply to: seeker1963

It's the same concept behind the way the arrest for DUI in general. Let's take alcohol for example as it's the easiest to test for in the field. If you blow a .05-.075 you will get arrested for DWAI(driving while ability impaired) in NY. from .08 and up its a DWI and below .05 it's nothing. These arbitrary numbers take no consideration to individual factors such as last meal and more importantly, individual levels of tolerance. I don't drink anymore so if I blew a .06 I could very well be completely incapable of driving properly and may in fact warrant the more serious DWI charge but will still only get the DWAI whereas my former band mate and full-blown alcoholic, could have a substantial amount of alcohol in his system and blow a .12 for example, and be technically completely sober because of his massive tolerance levels to alcoholic inebriation yet will be looking at a felony even if he passes all the standard field sobriety tests up to and prior to the breathalyzer.

The concept for prescriptions is very analogous in this respect. If I were to take some of the pain meds which I am legally prescribed as a result of injuries I received in the armed forces, I have a rather high tolerance to them and even were I to take more than the recommended dosage, it would have no effect on my from an intoxicating stand point. The authorities don't care in that regard if it affects you or not or how it affects you. All they care about is the number that comes back on your blood work and if that blood work says you have any sort of narcotic or benzo in your system then you are going to be charged with a DWI/DWAI/DUI depending on the municipality. It's an easy way to make it look like they're doing an above the board job at stopping these crimes as well as making money for the municipality(fines) and state (surcharges) as well as the court mandated classes you must attend in which someone is going to be making money as well.

Even if you can get all the charges thrown out in court, to hire an attorney will cost an insane amount of money whether they do anything or not. The lowest price I was quoted for a retainer was $4000 for a similar scenario because they wanted to charge me with a felony and the guy did less work than he would have for a speeding ticket because it was all at the discretion of the officer to file charges and the DA's office had no clue what any of it was about because the officer knew that they had nothing that could even be presented to a Grand Jury let alone result in GJ filing charges against me. All in all, everyone got paid but me and it was the first time I had pictures and finger prints taken since I was 17 and enlisted. The whole thing stinks to high heaven and it's about filling seats whether they be in a jail cell, a class room or an AA/NA class and rehab program. I got off easy compared to most people as they typically go with a court appointed Atty and settle for a plea bargain where they have to attend some sort of drug and alcohol program. I knew they were trying to entrap me from the get go and refused to give or sign a statement without an attorney which just pissed them off 100x more.

a reply to: 772STi

Its almost impossible to od on benzos by themselves but when mixed with other drugs or alcohol it extremely easy to od and die.

I think almost impossible is a stretch but agree it is harder to do so alone.
Rarely sure, but not almost impossible.

What you said is correct though.
Those that take these meds like they are prescribed and for their prescribed reasons have should have no issues with driving or going about their daily life.

Xanax especially has a very big abuse problem, which is a shame because it can be a great med for those that really need it.