It's widely assumed that DUI (driving under the influence) refers to drunken driving only. The reality is that law enforcement officers frequently issue DUI citations to impaired drivers operating a vehicle while under the influence of illegal drugs and even prescribed drugs.
Here in Arizona, the governor recently signed a bill into law eliminating a DUI exemption for methadone users. Methadone is a synthetic opioid used to treat heroin addiction. Recovering addicts using methadone had been allowed to drive after taking the substance. Now they are subject to the same impairment standards as all other drivers.
A 2006 study of drivers showed that 13.3 percent drove under the influence of an illicit drug or alcohol at least once that year. The percentages of impaired drivers was especially high among teens and young adults, peaking with 31.8 percent of drivers aged 22 admitting that they'd driven at least once in a year's time while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
That same year, Arizona drunk drivers killed 585 people across the state.
Arizona is one of 15 states in which it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle if there is any detectable trace of a prohibited drug in the driver's blood.
In most first-offense Arizona DUI cases involving drugs, the main legal repercussion is license suspension. If you're convicted of a DUI drug offense, your license is automatically revoked for a year. You're also ineligible for a permit allowing you to drive to and from work.
Contrast that with a DUI conviction involving alcohol: you may get your suspended license back after 90 days, and you may be eligible for a work permit as well.
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