Medical DUI is when the cops bust people for DUI because they are taking legal drugs which they have a prescription for.

If this is really a problem, which I don't think it is, it should be solved by having doctors tell people not to drive when they give them prescriptions. Of course the cops view it as a way to shake down a person for a $1,500 DUI fine.

They’re also looking for drivers impaired by legal, prescription drugs – harder to recognize than drunken driving. [If you can't tell they are impared why are the cops stopping them? Well duh for the REVENUE]

Mesa Prosecuting Attorney William Burke said driving while impaired by prescription drugs makes up anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of the cases he handles. [Not because it is a problem, but because it results in a 10 to 25 prcent increase in revenue - of course he will never admit that! ]

"They have multiple prescriptions, and they’re just not aware that if it’s impairing them" [They if these folks are not aware they are commiting a crime why are they being arrested? Duh thats simple - for the $1,500 DUI fine ]

Depressants, for example, make pupils smaller while stimulants make them larger. [Hmmm so it seems like anybody with eyes is going to show symptons of DUI - large people mean you are DUI, small pupils mean you are DUI, I bet normal pupils will even give the cops an excuse to bust you for DUI. Andy hey don't stimulant make you drive BETTER? Fighter pilots are given speed by the military to improve their performance when they fly planes over long distances]

People don’t usually drive impaired just once: Police say that, on average, a first-time offender has driven under the influence 87 times before getting stopped and arrested. [Again it sounds like it isn't a problem at all! If a person can drive 87 times with out getting in an accident they are probably not impared!]

Source

Police see more prescription drug impairment in DUI stops

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 7:35 am

Rebekah Zemansky, Cronkite News Service

When Mesa Police Officer James Boubelik pulls someone over for reckless driving, he looks for clues of impairment like dilated pupils, slurred speech or the smell of alcohol.

But it’s more than just alcohol and illegal drugs that Boubelik and other officers are looking for these days. They’re also looking for drivers impaired by legal, prescription drugs – harder to recognize than drunken driving and sometimes harder to prosecute. [If the cops can't tell they are impared why are the cops stopping them? Well duh for the REVENUE]

“At first they don’t want to tell you anything” about prescription drugs they may be taking, Boubelik said. “Then as you start seeing these different signs and symptoms they’ll start opening up to you sometimes.” [Which is a damn good reason to always take the Fifth and refuse to answer any and all questions!]

Abuse and misuse of prescription drugs is a growing problem and one that authorities are targeting through increased public awareness and training that certifies police as drug recognition experts, said Alberto Gutier, director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. [But the cops want to handle it as a criminal people and shake down people for a $1,500 DUI fine]

Mesa Prosecuting Attorney William Burke said used to handle just a few cases a year of people driving while impaired by prescription drugs, but now they make up anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of the cases he handles. [Not because it is a problem, but because it results in a 10 to 25 percent increase in revenue]

Burke says that as prescription drugs get stronger, they can cause driving impairment even for people who are not deliberately misusing them. [Sounds like he is just demonizing prescription drugs so it will sound like it is ok for the government to steal money from them when they are arrested for DUI]

“They have multiple prescriptions, and they’re just not aware that if it’s impairing them, they shouldn’t be operating a motor vehicle, even though it says that on the medication,” Burke said. “Yes, it is definitely increasing.” [They if these folks are not aware they are commiting a crime why are they being arrested? Duh thats simple - for the $1,500 DUI fine]

So are arrests, which Burke attributes to better police work. That’s where training for DRE – drug recognitions experts – comes in. [Hmmm... it is so hard to detect this type of DUI that you need trained experts to reconize it? Sounds like it is more about REVENUE then safety]

Phoenix has become a hub for DRE training, where lab technicians teach officers from around the country and as far away as Canada how to recognize the signs of different drugs: Depressants, for example, make pupils smaller while stimulants make them larger. [Hmmm so it seems like anybody with eyes is going to show symptons of DUI - large people mean you are DUI, small pupils mean you are DUI, I bet normal pupils will even give the cops an excuse to bust you for DUI. Andy hey don't stimulant make you drive BETTER? Fighter pilots are given speed by the military to improve their performance when they fly planes over long distances]

The program was designed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is run through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Officers must be recertified every few years to stay current on the latest trends and techniques.

“We have some of the best drug recognition officers in the country, but also some of the most dedicated officers in the country when it comes to impairment, and we show it,” Gutier said. [You meant to say "revenue producing" officers didn't you? Not dedicated officers?]

If detecting prescription drug abuse is complicated, so is prosecution.

Burke said that in one recent case, the jury couldn’t decide if a driver taking three different prescriptions could be convicted of driving under the influence because his prescriptions were legal. [Duh, then the poor slob the pigs busted wasn't DUI!]

But the danger is real whether the substance is legal or not – this driver had swerved into oncoming traffic, nearly causing head-on collisions with two different vehicles before running off the road and crashing through a nearby house.

And though nobody was hurt in that accident, bystanders aren’t always so lucky.

On Oct. 29, authorities said a Peoria teen was struck and killed by a Phoenix woman driving down the sidewalk at 42 mph. The woman said medication made her “incoherent,” according to a report in The Arizona Republic.

Mesa Police Cmdr. William Peters said that the impact of accidents on victims and their families “motivates us more than anything.”

“We know if we get that guy hopefully we’ve prevented a crime of violence, and hopefully, by us arresting that person, that person changes his life around,” Peters said. [So they are turning a medical problem into a criminal problem. Well a criminal problem where the cops get $1,500 everytime they make an arrest!]

Peters said he believes accidents like the one in Peoria might not happen if people communicate with their doctors about medications and think ahead.

“It’s a purely preventable crime, it’s a crime of violence that never should have occurred,” Peters said. “The very first thing that goes when you take these things (drugs) is your judgment, people aren’t thinking right.”

That’s why Boubelik said he thinks educating the public about the dangers involved in driving while impaired, whether by alcohol or by prescription drugs, will play a large part in reducing such accidents. He said he wishes drivers could be shown accident photos before they get behind the wheel impaired – whether by prescription drugs or any other substance. [Again why arn't the cops demanding that doctor's educate their paients about this problem? Probably because everytime the cops arrest somebody they get $1,500!]

“Those images stay with you,” he said. “That’s what makes me so adamant about enforcement and education — nobody understands if they haven’t seen it, there’s no words to describe it.”

And people don’t usually drive impaired just once: Police say that, on average, a first-time offender has driven under the influence 87 times before getting stopped and arrested. This may mean repeat offenders think nothing will ever happen. [Again it sounds like it isn't a problem at all! If a person can drive 87 times with out getting in an accident they are probably not impared!]

“It’s a numbers game, it’s a matter of numbers,” Boubelik said. “The numbers are going to get you, and it’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens.”