A PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER. Utah provides the most overreaching statute in the country relating to prescribed medication or street drugs such as, Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamine. The statute provides that if you are operating a vehicle with a listed drug or its metabolite in your system you have committed a crime equal to DUI alcohol. The fact that the medication is prescribed to you by a physician and that you are within therapeutic levels, which is another way of saying that you are only taking as much medicine as the doctor told you to, is irrelevant. The statute specifically provides that if that medication is in your system and you were operating a motor vehicle, you have committed a crime.

The list of drugs under the statute is very extensive and includes, but is not limited to; tranquilizers, anti-psychotics, barbiturates or sleeping pills and certain pain pills in addition to street drugs such as Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamine. The constitutionality of this case is questionable, but has not been tested at the appellate levels. It is, therefore the law and a very large percentage of the Utah population is probably violating the law regularly, since a very large segment of the population is under treatment by a physician who has prescribed many of these medications. It is important to know that the fact that a doctor prescribed this medication for an individual is not a defense to the charge, it is further not a defense to the charge that an individual is within therapeutic levels of the prescription itself. Many citizens and physicians are not aware of the existence of this law and it's far reaching ramifications. Also, the law is not limited to pharmaceuticals which retain a warning on the bottle against operating heavy machinery.

In many cases, this law is inherently unfair and seeks to criminalize behavior which in all other respects is normal behavior, and in fact, the use of such prescribed medications can actually enhance a driver's ability to function properly behind the wheel. These cases require a strong advocacy and professional defense.