Drug Impaired Driving Laws

November 2009

Drugged driving is a growing problem in the United States, but it has not received the same attention as drunk driving. Detecting a drug impaired driver is not easy. There is no national standard equivalent to Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) tests to measure the level of drug impairment. While all states have drunk driving laws, only some have enacted laws to address drug impairment. The chart below provides a broad outline of drugged driving laws throughout the United States.

  • 18 states listed below have strict per se laws that forbid any presence of a prohibited substance or drug in the driver's body while in control of the vehicle.
    • 2 of these 18 states include this in their drunk driving statute.
  • 44 states, DC, and the Northern Mariana Islands have a Drug Evaluation Classification (DEC) program that provides training for law enforcement officers to become certified Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) who can identify indicators of impairment. This training not only assists law enforcement in identifing drug impaired drivers, but it also enables officers to better present evidence of drug impairment in court.

State

Per Se Laws for Drugs
(Forbidding Prohibited Substances in
Driver's Body)

DEC/DRE Programs
(Providing Law Enforcement Training)
Alabama    
Alaska Included in drunk driving statute Yes
Arizona Yes Yes
Arkansas   Yes
California   Yes
Colorado   Yes
Connecticut    
Delaware Yes Yes
D.C.   Re-establishing
Florida   Yes
Georgia Yes Yes
Hawaii   Yes
Idaho   Yes
Illinois Yes Yes
Indiana Yes Yes
Iowa Yes Yes
Kansas   Yes
Kentucky   Yes
Louisiana   Yes
Maine   Yes
Maryland   Yes
Massachusetts   Yes
Michigan Yes  
Minnesota Yes Yes
Mississippi Yes Yes
Missouri   Yes
Montana   Limited
Nebraska   Yes
Nevada Yes Yes
New Hampshire   Yes
New Jersey

   Yes
New Mexico   Yes
New York   Yes
North Carolina   Yes
North Dakota   Yes
Northern Mariana Islands   Yes
Ohio Yes

  
Oklahoma   Yes
Oregon   Yes
Pennsylvania Yes Yes
Rhode Island Yes Yes
South Carolina Included in drunk driving statute Yes
South Dakota   Yes
Tennessee    
Texas   Yes
Utah Yes Yes
Vermont   Yes
Virgin Islands    
Virginia Yes Yes
Washington   Yes
West Virginia    
Wisconsin Yes Yes
Wyoming   Yes
Total 18 States 44 States + D.C., Northern Mariana Islands

Source: State Highway Safety Offices.