The Ambien defense is a legal defense strategy to a criminal charge of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). It argues that you cannot be held criminally liable because your driving was not a voluntary act. However, it is often a weak defense strategy because you knowingly took sleeping pills and the warning label tells you not to drive.
The Ambien defense to DUI charges
DUID charges allege that you were driving a vehicle while under the influence of drugs. The Ambien defense claims that you were not voluntarily driving the motor vehicle. Instead, you were under the influence of Ambien and were “sleep-driving,” or that your poor driving was the result of another side effect of Ambien, like drowsiness.
It is up to the prosecutor to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that your criminal act was voluntarily done. The Ambien defense argues that, because your driving was not voluntary, you cannot be criminally liable for DUID.
This defense is not limited to the drug Ambien, also known as zolpidem. It can be used for other sedative-hypnotic sleeping aids and prescription drugs like:
- Butisol sodium,
- Carbrital,
- Lunesta,
- Prosom,
- Rozerem, and/or
- Sonata.
The defense is also not limited to DUID charges. It can also be used for:
- reckless driving,
- speeding, and
- other traffic violations.
However, the experienced attorneys at our law firm have found that the Ambien defense is often a poor one to rely on. There are three reasons for this:
- the Ambien defense is a form of voluntary intoxication, which is generally not a defense to criminal liability,
- Ambien’s warning label informs you of the dangers of driving while taking the drug, and
- some states have already ruled against it in DUID cases.
Additionally, even if it does work, the Ambien defense will only work for a first-time offense. It is much harder for your DUI defense attorney to argue that you were not acting voluntarily if you have a history of sleep-driving or sleepwalking while taking Ambien.
If blaming a sleeping medication for your driving does not work, you can face a license suspension and be convicted for DUID, which is typically a misdemeanor.
Sleep driving is a form of voluntary intoxication
One of the most important drawbacks to the Ambien defense is that criminal law distinguishes between voluntary and involuntary intoxication.
Voluntary intoxication is when you willingly ingested drugs or alcohol, knowing that it could cause you to get intoxicated.
For example: Bob goes to the bar and drinks 8 shots of whiskey.
It is generally only a defense to specific intent crimes, like forgery. It is not a defense to other offenses.
For example: Now intoxicated, Bob assaults another patron, gets in his car, drives under the influence, and commits vehicular manslaughter. His claim that he cannot be held criminally liable because he was under the influence of alcohol is a very weak one.
Involuntary intoxication is when you unknowingly consumed an intoxicant, or only did so by force or trickery.
For example: Stacy is at a bar as a designated driver. Someone slips a drug into her soda and, on her way home, she loses consciousness and causes a fatal accident.
Involuntary intoxication is a defense to any crime, including DUI and DUI of drugs. However, our criminal defense lawyers rarely see this defense get raised, as the factual circumstances it requires are rare.
Because you took Ambien or some other type of sleeping pills by choice, the Ambien defense is generally a form of the voluntary intoxication defense. This makes it far less likely to be a complete defense in your case. Our criminal defense attorneys and DUI lawyers have found that this is particularly true if you were charged with drugged driving.
Warning label on sleeping pills weakens this DUI defense
The Ambien DUI defense is also weakened by its warning label. The label, which is mandated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), includes a warning about:
“‘Sleep-driving’ and other complex behaviors while not fully awake. Risk increases with dose and use with other CNS depressants and alcohol… Patients usually do not remember these events… The risk of next-day psychomotor impairment, including impaired driving, is increased if AMBIEN is taken with less than a full night of sleep remaining (7 to 8 hours).”[1]
Even if you did not read the warning label for Ambien before taking it, this warning puts you on notice of the risks. Prosecutors will argue that you should have read the warnings to learn of the dangers of taking Ambien.
Some state courts, like in California, have ruled against it
In some states, courts have already ruled against the Ambien defense for DUID charges. California is one of them.
Like other states, California DUI law forbids driving while under the influence of drugs. You can be “under the influence” of a drug even if you are not intoxicated by it. Any side effect that impairs your ability to drive can make you liable for DUID. As a result, this law applies to driving while impaired by:
- illegal drugs, like cocaine,
- legal drugs, like marijuana, and
- over-the-counter and prescription medications, even those that are not intoxicating.[2]
One case in 2012 ruled against the Ambien defense. A man used Ambien to fall asleep. He then woke up in the middle of the night, got in his car, and drove erratically. He was arrested and charged with DUID and driving on a suspended driver’s license. He raised the Ambien defense to contest the charge. He was convicted and an appeals court ruled that his defense was one of voluntary intoxication, and so was not available to DWI or DUI cases.[3]
Legal Citations:
[1] Ambien – Warning Label (December 2016).
[2] California Vehicle Code 23152(f) VC.
[3] People v. Mathson, 210 Cal.App.4th 1297 (2012).
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:
- Slipping through the Cracks: Why Can’t We Stop Drugged Driving – Western New England Law Review.
- Sleep driving: Sleepwalking variant or misuse of z-drugs? – Sleep Medicine Reviews.
- Zolpidem Ingestion, Automatisms, and Sleep Driving: A Clinical and Legal Case Series – Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
- Sleep and Drug-impaired Driving Overlap Syndrome – Parasomnias, An Issue of Sleep Medicine Clinics.
- Driving under the Influence of Prescription Drugs Used Nonmedically: Associations in a Young Adult Sample – Substance Use & Addiction Journal.
Legal References
[i] See, for example, NPR website – “Roseanne Barr Says Ambien Played Role In Racist Tweet That Spiked Her Show’s Reboot.”
[ii] See, for example, ABC news website – “Kerry Kennedy Says Ambien ‘Overtook’ Her, Causing Car Crash.”
[iii] “Drug Per Se Laws: A Review of Their Use in States,” published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
[iv] California Vehicle Code 23152f VC.
[v] People v. Mathson (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th at 1297.
[vi] See same.
