Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drugs

Prescription and OTC medications are widely available, free or inexpensive, and falsely believed to be safer than illicit drugs. The rates of non-medical use of prescription and over the counter (OTC) drugs among high school students remain high (for more information see: Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)). Prescription medications most commonly abused by youth include pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and depressants. These drugs include but are not limited to Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin, Codeine, Adderall, Ritalin, Valium, and Xanax. Prescription or OTC medication misuse can cause serious health effects, addiction, and death. Misuse of a drug can be defined as taking more than the amount prescribed or directed, taking it more often than prescribed or directed, taking it for non-medical reasons, and/or taking a drug prescribed or intended for someone else.

Designer and Synthetic Drugs

The State of Georgia has strict laws (O.C.G.A. §16-13-25) targeting the sale and possession of designer and synthetic drugs, which have the same physiological effects on the body as other controlled substances. These drugs include but are not limited to synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic cathinones, and synthetic opioids. Snorting, smoking, injecting, and/ or orally ingesting these synthetic drugs can lead to a stroke, heart attack, and even death.

Synthetic cannabinoids, also known as synthetic/new marijuana, K2/Spice and commonly marketed as incense, are dangerous chemical compounds produced for a psychoactive effect. Synthetic marijuana use can cause an elevated heart rate and blood pressure, unconsciousness, seizures, vomiting, intense hallucinations, and paranoid delusions. It is considered more potent than marijuana and likely to cause more severe side effects. K2 use has increased in the high schools at an alarming rate.

Synthetic cathinones, also called “bath salts,” “plant food”, or Flakka and distributed in a powder or capsule form, stimulate the central nervous system much like cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. “Bath Salts” cause dizziness, vomiting, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, seizures, suicidal thoughts, prolonged panic attacks, and a rapid heart rate.

Synthetic opioids like methadone and fentanyl are analgesic. They are more potent than morphine and heroin and often mixed with other opioids increasing the risk of an overdose. According to the DEA, a reemergence in the distribution and abuse of synthetic opioids started up again in 2013. In 2020, CDC reported a significant increase in related overdoses and deaths.

Drugs and Driving Privileges

In Georgia, pursuant to O.C.G.A. §40-5-75, the driver’s license of any person convicted of driving or being in actual physical control of any moving vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance or marijuana shall be suspended by operation of law.

First Suspension

Your driver’s license or driving privileges will be suspended for a period of 180 days. After the required suspension period, you may apply for reinstatement of your driver’s license by submitting proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug UseRisk Reduction Program. You will not be eligible for any type of limited driving permit.

Second Suspension

Your driver’s license or driving privileges will be suspended for a minimum period of 3 years. Pursuant to House Bill 349 (2013), you may apply for reinstatement of your driver’s license by submitting proof of completion of a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program after 1 year from the conviction date.

Georgia’s Implied Consent Law

Georgia’s Implied Consent law, O.C.G.A. §40-5-67.1, requires you to submit to state-administered chemical tests of your blood, breath, urine, or other bodily substances for the purpose of determining if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you refuse this testing, your Georgia driver’s license will be suspended for a minimum period of 1 year for each refusal. There is no limited driving permit available for suspensions related to implied consent refusals. Your refusal to submit to blood or urine testing may be offered as evidence against you in a court of law. If you submit to testing and the test results indicate a blood alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit (.02 for persons under age 21), your Georgia driver’s license or privilege to drive on the highways of this state may be suspended for a minimum period of 1 year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What about other medications or drugs?

Answer: Medications or drugs will not change your BAC. However, if you drink alcohol while taking certain medications, you may become more impaired, which will affect your ability to perform driving-related tasks.

Question: Is it safe to drink alcohol and drive?

Answer: No. Alcohol use slows reaction time and impairs judgment and coordination, which are all skills needed to drive a car safely. The more alcohol consumed, the greater the impairment.

Question: Why do some people react differently to alcohol than others?

Answer: Individual reactions to alcohol vary and are influenced by many factors such as:

  • Age.
  • Gender.
  • Amount of food consumed before drinking.
  • How quickly the alcohol was consumed.
  • Use of drugs or prescription medicines.
  • Family history of alcohol problems.