with Ingenuity and Integrity
for Over 30 Years
Interviewer: Are there a lot of cases that are attributed to prescription medications being linked to drunk-driving charges?
Dale Naticchia: Quite a few. Yes.
Interviewer: What are some of the common prescription medications that you’re seeing now?
Dale Naticchia: Soma, Xanax, and Lunesta are fairly common. Someone may have taken their Lunesta too early before they got home and they got in a traffic jam and they fell asleep at a light. Those situations are very common.
Some Prescriptions Enhance the Effects of AlcoholSoma is very common for back pain as is Xanax and it sometimes enhances the effects of alcohol.
Interviewer: If it was maybe something like Soma or Ambien and there wasn’t any alcohol involved does the BMV maybe show a bit more lenience to a case like that?
Dale Naticchia: No. They’ll be no driving suspension issued but people will be charged with just the OVI from the BMV as long as you don’t blow over .08.
Public Defenders Cannot Represent Individuals at the Administrative License SuspensionInterviewer: Do drivers have the right to get a public defender in a BMV case?
Dale Naticchia: If you get a public defender on an OVI case he will more than likely not do anything about the case that’s pending in Columbus; the Administrative License Suspension.
Interviewer: Why is that?