Sharing difficult subject with you

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I need to vent. In the old days I vented here, if only for myself, sort of like a journal. If people respond, it helps. If they dont, well, I got it out. This embarrases me very much.

Background: I have been anti substance all my life. I lived proudly and followed the law. The only medication I ever took was prescribed for my mood disorder and anxiety.I dont function well without it. Ive tried

I never exceed my dose and have taken this medication combo for thirty years. Until my car accident, I never had any accident or a ticket or ANY criminal record. Im 62 and had a totally clean driving record.

My accident was me driving unsteadily for about a mile, then rolling off the road. Most likely I either passed out or fell asleep, but I cant remember anything. Im thinking I fell asleep because if I hadnt felt well I would have pulled off the road. If I was overly tired I would probably hsve pulled off the riad too, but less likely maybe. Wish I could remember but the end result would not have changed.

They routinely do blood tests after an accident and it is becoming very common per drug court for people to be charged with OWIs even for low or normal doses of almost any drug in your system. They found a low dose of one medication in my system. The high endbof normal level for this is 80. My level was 24. My doctor sent my lawyer a letter saying I had not taken too much, had been on this medication cocktail for over 20 years, and was not impaired. It doesnt matter. The drug court people I talked to and the lawyers, one which I hired, warned me this is something that's rarely dropped.

My ticket said its not even a crime, but it is still an $800 ticket and a solid owi is already on my record, although I havent even been convicted yet. I had a backgound check for a volunteer job and was asked about it. oWI was written on the top of the backgound check in big bold letters. I have havent even been to court yet (I repeat).

This is never off your record if convicted so im afraid to drive. If one gets two OWIs, one can go to jail. I cant quit my medications or I'll get very mentally sick so not taking medications isnt really an option. It is depressing to me to have this on my record. I have never abused drugs and have never been drunk in my life.

The states,certain ones, are starting to let the police decide if you were impaired. Levels of drugs in your system no longer matter. Any drug matters. You can get a serious ticket for any medication at any level...or one beer. If you need blood pressure medications, beware. Dont take codeine and drive even if it doesnt bother you. Pot? Even medicinal? Forget it. There is no class of drugs, other than say Tylenol that is safe. So I have been told. So I learned and shared stories with others. Wisconsin is not the only state with this. Its gaining traction. Its standard in the mid

Once this ticket is issued, all you can do is pray.
75percent of Americans take some sort of medication.

I may never drive again. Its not the end of the world.


Ok, vent over. Have a nice day.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
We have the same situation in Texas. They treat alcohol use with less intensity. I hope that when you go to court, your doctor will vouch for you. I would zero in on the length of time that you have been on this medication and had never had so much as a fender bender.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
Well damn, that's a trend that's started in prisons that I had hoped would go away. We have a HUGE K-2 problem here, mainly because it wont show up on the urinalysis test. Because of this, Officers have been writing Conduct Violations for Rule#11-Possesion/Use of an Intoxicating Substance stating that "due to my experience, I can tell that they are visibly intoxicated". Well, this is all well and fine except for the fact that its complete and utter crap! We have entirely too many offenders on Mental Health medications that can mimic intoxication, even when they have stopped taking them. Unless you personally know the person, you cant determine if they are intoxicated or not. Hell, low blood sugar in a diabetic mimics intoxication!
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Oh, you can also test with low blood sugar and get a similar ticket for having a condition that makes it unsafe to drive, like an epileptic.

Since I never dealt with the law regarding myself, I never realized the power they have. Its not about true guilt or innocence. This is a big money ticket for the state.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
This is from dui.drivinglaws.org

In California it’s a crime to drive while impaired from drug use. No blood testing standard is established in California – that is, there is no fixed amount of drugs within the blood system that determines conviction. Whether a driver is impaired is determined on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the prosecutor.

This is scary...thank you for bringing this up, SWOT. Sounds like the police have the power.
 

Tanya M

Living with an attitude of gratitude
Staff member
Oh SWOT, that is just so unfair!! I really do hope that when you go to court they will take into consideration that you have no record of breaking the law.
I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. I'm so thankful you survived the accident. You have been through enough.
((HUGS)) to you.........
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Thanks. I kind of posted to warn others. One woman I met who was waiting to drive het son home from drug education class told me her son was pulled over for a broken tail light and then drug tested, although he hadn't been in an accident or even driven wrong. Like me, he was on a low dose of medication, and he was found guilty in MN. He had to go to drug education etc. Just like he had been drunk or shooting heroine. It stays on his record. Then he moved to WI and to drive here, since his license suspension was over, he had several expensive hoops to jump through for DVR to allow him to drive and he was in college with a job so he HAD to drive. This OWI will be on his record when he looks for jobs. He was taking a small dose of psychiatric medication. She said he was a nice, quiet, studious kid who had few close friends and didnt party. I believe her.

This is happening everywhere. Its all up to the cops and the Dept. Of Transportation. The DVR usually revokes your license when you get a ticket, even before court, but they didn't do this to me. Yet. I'm waiting until after im found guilty...lol. Not feeling optomistic here ;)
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Wow. I have no words of wisdom on this one. I'm completely shocked that with that minor amout in your system they've charged you and are continuing the prosecution. I hope you have a good attorney and a reasonable judge because this is utter BS.

I can't help...so I'll be morally outraged on your behalf. ;)
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Right, lil. It is. I have a good attorney, but it isnt dropped easily. Only one judge here for this.

Yesterday was initial hearing to have pretrial date set. It has as many steps as child custody.

I actually may have to go to a jury trial to get it possibly dropped. Im terrified. I dont trust juries (OJ/casey anthony etc) and I have no defense because I have no memory of anything. Somebody also took a video of me drving crazily before I drove off the road. Thats why I know I was unconscious.

Lets face it jurors though, jurors will think the crazy driving shows impairment. They wont be told it happened suddenly as I drove. Most of my way, i was driving fine. Or at least, nobody called the cops about my driving until a certain point.

I know im screwed.

Be careful while driving on any medication. Have a good day.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
Hell, low blood sugar in a diabetic mimics intoxication!

This has been my personal experience. Two years ago, I experienced an extreme low blood sugar episode that I could not come out of. I called ems. one of the emts thought I was high or drunk. I was on the verge of passing out. I was incoherent, confused, and a bit belligerent. Thankfully the other emt noticed the insulin pen and glucose tablets and was able to quickly reverse the situation.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
The reason I mentioned that was there was an offender one time acting very strange. I knew him somewhat so knew his behavior was off. When I commented about him appearing stoned, another offender stated that he was a diabetic. I made a quick phone call and found out he had skipped his insulin shot and that's why he was acting that way.
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
This is awful, SWOT.

Thank you for posting for us. That took courage. If enough of us become aware of these laws, we can begin working to have them changed. I wonder whether you could write an anonymous article in your local newspaper, following your case through its resolution. Where would a person begin, do you suppose. Maybe, to write something similar to what you've written for us here, but in newspaper article form. You could send it to the person who owns the newspaper, suggesting a series of articles on these laws, and on their unintended effects.

I am sorry this is happening. It's unbelievable, and seems very wrong.

Cedar
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
These kinds of injustices take political action to change. When they start nailing "important" people with this stuff, there will be action. Sometimes if there are enough ordinary people getting hit with this stuff to stir up outrage, that can also trigger change. But the change will have to come at the political level - not from the courts. The courts just uphold the law - they can't fix stupid laws.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I live and drive in fear of this. I live in WI. I take 3 controlled substances. 1 for pain, one for sleep, and one PRN for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)/Panic disorder.
I am also diabetic and prone to episodes of low blood sugar. I carry glucose tablets with me at all times, but there is the possibility of me being affected by low blood sugar until I am able to pull over and dig the glucose tablets out of the glove compartment.

Under WI law, ANY detectable amt of a "drug of abuse" which all three of the drugs I mentioned above are, constitutes grounds for an OWI. I have had ONE speeding ticket in nearly 40 years of driving and that was 14 years ago.

To make matters even more "interesting", a medication I take to counteract tremor from the AP I take, dilates my pupils.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Oh.GN its not even just controlled.substances. It's anything.

I so get your.fear. I would have shared your fear and
kept driving to a bare minimum had I known. Since the gov. I refer to as Big A (you figure it out) these crazy laws were enacted. Those with mental illness but also "mainstream" illnesses are at high risk here. I know we're not the only state, but I am wondering if it is harder to have the charges dropped here

My son had a similar ticket and he was on psyche medications too. He lives in Missouri. Took one cheap lawyer and his charges were reduced. From talking to those who know. It is unlikely to happen here.

There will be no big uprising here. People in the U.S. dont revolt in any big way. The U.S. people have no real interest in things. Heck, our voting percentage says it all.And important people here dont get these sort of tickets. It's who you know. The little guy is snoring, maybe because he knows he has no power. The fact is, these laws are sneaked in. Most people dont know sbout them until it happens to them. I had no idea. Oh yeah. They blood tested me when I was unconscious. That act is called "informed consent." This means if you are unable to consent, it is legal to assume you will consent.

Now I would never had refused a blood test as that is "legal" suicide, but I wasnt given the option to commit legal suicide.

Our country gets more screwed up each day.
 
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InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
They blood tested me when I was unconscious. That act is called "informed consent." This means if you are unable to consent, it is legal to assume you will consent.
Move to Canada.
Or at least parts of it - I can't speak for every province.
But here, "implied consent" is only imputed for medical consent - so, if you are unconscious and don't have family members there to speak for you, you can't actually consent to a blood transfusion, or surgery - so the medical doctors are given the power to decide what is medically in your best interests. They can't apply that to a police request for a blood sample. They may be able to TAKE the sample, but they can't release it unless or until you are able to actually give consent.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
The problem is that its very hard to get a resident's visa with any kind of chronic physical or mental health problem. I looked into it when Stu was alive and they wouldn't take him because of is illness and wouldn't take me because of my MH issues.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
GN, you need money to move to another country. There is also that. We have none.

I just wish I'd been born there or in certain European countries
I'd fit in better, I think.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
Yeah, they like you to have either a sponsor or proof of enough savings to be able to support yourself for a specified number of years. Unless you have a job waiting.

I could've stayed in Germany as I had a job offer from Siemens, but Stu would've had to go back the US until either I had saved up enough money to bring him over, or he got a job with a company that would cover his working visa.

There was also the issue that I'd been seperated from him for most of the past several years. I turned down the offer from Siemens and started all over again.
 
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