Drugs and driving: blood concentration limits to be set for certain controlled drugs in a new legal offence - GOV.UK

A new offence of driving with certain controlled drugs[1] above specified limits in the blood is expected to come into force on 2 March 2015.[2] These drugs include some prescribed

medicines. Anyone found to have any of the drugs above specified limits in their blood will be guilty of an offence, whether their driving was impaired or not. A preliminary, non-specific

roadside test may be used to detect if an individual has any of the drugs in their body. To identify the particular drug taken and quantify blood levels, a blood sample will be taken at a

police station and sent for forensic analysis.

The legislation provides a statutory “medical defence” for people taking the drugs for medical reasons, if their driving was not impaired. The conditions of the medical defence state that

the individual is not guilty of an offence if:

The individual may need to provide written evidence to satisfy the points above (eg, the tear-off section of a prescription or the medicine’s patient information leaflet).

If the individual’s driving is impaired, they can be found guilty of an offence under the current law, which has no statutory medical defence and will not change.

Drugs included in the new offence that might be used for medicinal purposes:

Although only a few benzodiazepines and opioids are included in the list above, all benzodiazepines and opioids can impair driving ability. The risk of driving impairment is increased if the

medicine is taken with alcohol. Warnings on the risks of driving impairment are already in the patient information leaflet.

Guidance document from the Department for Transport: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/drug-driving.

Article citation: Drug Safety Update volume 7 issue 12, July 2014: A1.

[1] Controlled drugs are defined in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

[2] Dependent upon the regulations being approved before Parliament is dissolved on 30 March 2015 prior to the General Election of 7 May 2015.

[3] Whilst amphetamine will not be included in the current regulations to go before Parliament in 2014, it is expected to be included later in 2015 once a limit has been agreed