Thank you all for your replies. Awareness is the first step in solving any problem. I would like to clarify a few minor points. I have been acclimated to these same meds for years so I am not likely to experience the same side effects as someone first introduced to the same medication/dosages I take.
HOWEVER, I have never driven within four hours of taking any of my medications. Upon consultating with my psychopharmacologist, he helped me develop a schedule for taking my medications so that if any impairment were to occur, it would would have minimal impact on my daily life ie taking my antidepressant and mood stabilizers at 6 am so that I may leave the house by 10am and then taking my other medications at bedtime, and not leaving the house until 10 am the next day. Yet benzodiazepines, the drug which the judge pointed to as evidence of my guilt, had not been taken for 20 hours (far longer than one would feel the effects of that medication as many who are prescribed multiple dosages of ativan, klonpin or xanax per day could attest to) yet benzodiazepines will be detected in urine or blood for 48 to 72 hours after the last dosage.
My point is that I have been hypervigilant regarding the effects of my medications, impairment and their effects on my performance ability througout the day, even to the extent of paying for a consult out of pocket with a heavily published psychopharmacologist. Backing into the mailbox occured at 6 pm occured twelve hours after taking any medication whatsoever. Probable cause was established by my apartment manager telling the police that I was on drugs and the fact that I was not able to complete all of the field sobriety tests due to the effects of my back injury. Those all medications that prescibed showed up in my blood test were all within therapeutic levels or lower, do to the timing of when the last dosage was taken.
I have taken every precaution that I can think of so that I am able to safely operate a vehicle, or a backhoe, for that matter. Regarding my back injury which easily qualifies me to take narcotics for pain management, I have defered to treatment that will not impair me in anyway, all in the name of being accountable for my impairment even though accepting narcotic treatment would ease the pain that I live with each day. I am also aware that narcotic therapy, regardless of the medication, dosage or timing of the dosage is directly linked to exacerbating my existing depression. The lawyer did the best he could but I happened to get on the docket of a judge who is notarious tough on the usages of medication in relation to driving.
No, I do not plan to appeal the conviction as I do not have the financial resources to do so and although I have sought the assistance of legal aide and pro bono lawyers, this is a minor conviction in comparison to the other cases overloaded by a system that is extremely understaffed and should legal aide even agree to help me, I would be taking legal help from others that exist at or below the poverty line, denying others opportunity to help the causes of others with much more serious issues than my own.
End result, because I am on disability and the fines and other expenses related to my conviction, I have to choose between being legally compliant and paying my fines or buying groceries. It is now necessary to go to the local soup kitchen to sustain life on the meals provided and accept food boxes of expired, roach infested food to make ends meet.
My point is that regardless of the extensive steps that I have taken to ensure the safety of myself and others while maintaining medicinal compliance, I was convicted of DUI even though I was not impaired, confirmed by the timing of taking any of my my medications. I submitted to the court my confirmation that all medications that were detected were prescribed, a schedule of when I take any medication in regards to the safety of myself and others and confirmation from the psychopharmacologist of the schedule of the administration of when I take my necessary dosages.
If there were any more precautions that I have could have taken, I am not aware of them. However, I chose to submit my post so that reader might not encounter the same legal problems that I have experienced. I was responsible, accountable for my actions and sought assistance to prevent such an event for occuring. Yet still the outcome came to be as the judge deemed to be correct yet the conviction occured regardless of the validity of my defense and the submission of evidence provided to the court in order to assert my innocence.
I just want others who take medication to be aware that by maintaining medical compliance, regardless of taking the necessary precautions to enable me to live a normalized existence that we are still risking a conviction that is unjust and biased. DONT STOP YOUR MEDICATIONS but use every percaution within your power to ensure your own safety and the safety of others.
ptk