In Arizona, a motorist can be arrested for DUI even if their blood alcohol content is below the legal limit of 0.08 percent or if they have had no spirituous liquor at all. Any DUI in Arizona is a criminal offense and subject to serious penalties including jail time, and suspension or loss of driver’s license. A conviction carries criminal and civil charges. Any DUI conviction in Arizona can potentially result in adverse collateral consequences for a person, including loss of their job, driving privileges, residency, and other freedoms they had prior to being convicted of a DUI.
Under Arizona Law A.R.S. 28 – 1381 it is unlawful to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle, if a person is “impaired to the slightest degree” due to any drugs, alcohol, or combination, thereof. This year, Drug DUI charges constituted 14 percent of the total annual impaired driving arrests. Arizona officials reported that many of those were the result of driving impairments caused by prescription drugs.
This law applies to any toxic drug and includes “prescription-only drugs”, as well as over-the- counter drugs, illegal drugs, narcotics, Medical Marijuana or dangerous drugs.