You can get a DUI for driving while on Wegovy because medications in this class (including Ozempic and Mounjaro) slow down the rate at which your body processes alcohol. In other words, when you take Wegovy and related drugs, alcohol stays in your body longer, even if you don’t feel its effects.
If you get pulled over and accused of a DUI while using Wegovy, we encourage you to contact a Los Angeles DUI lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced attorney can break down how your use of medications like Wegovy may misrepresent the nature of your intoxication, subsequently clearing you of the charges brought against you.
How Does Your Body Process Alcohol When You Use Wegovy?
Alcohol doesn’t immediately get absorbed by your stomach. Usually, your stomach absorbs 20% of the alcohol you consume, while your small intestines absorb the other 80%. When someone isn’t taking Wegovy or related medications, this absorption process can take anywhere between 15 minutes and two hours.
However, GLP-1 agonists like Wegovy slow down the absorption process. Usually, the slowing down of this process makes you feel less hungry, ensuring that you eat less and can lose weight. If you’re out drinking, though, Wegovy can keep alcohol in your system for up to four hours or even longer.
Does this mean that Wegovy can make you feel drunk for longer? The answer varies depending on several factors, including your bodily makeup and how much you drank in a night. Even if you don’t feel drunk, Wegovy can still make breathalyzer and blood tests suggest that you have a blood alcohol level (BAC) above the legal limit.
Wegovy Can Make Your Blood Alcohol Content Readings Inaccurate
A non-medicated person who goes out and has one or two drinks with friends should be safe to drive in an hour or two (without accounting for their body makeup and the strength of their drinks). However, a person on Wegovy may register at a higher-than-average BAC for three to four hours after their last drink.
Why is this the case? Because Wegovy and related medications hold alcohol in your stomach. Subsequently, officers who pull you over may believe that your BAC endangers the people on the road around you, when in fact your medication is influencing their breathalyzer and blood test results. In other words, you can get a DUI for driving on Wegovy and other GLP-1 meds.
Now, police officers in California must have good cause to pull you over on a night out. This means that officers can’t make random checks of people’s cars. They must be able to smell alcohol or notice a disruption in your driving before they can pull you over. If you get pulled over for seemingly no reason, it’s worth it to have an attorney investigate an officer’s motives.
California and Its Rising Blood Alcohol Defense
California is a “time of driving” state. Prosecutions have an obligation to prove that a person’s BAC was above the legal limit once they got behind the wheel of a car. The state presumes that a breathalyzer and blood test’s results reflect a person’s BAC “at the time of driving,” so long as those samples were collected within three hours of the “time of driving.”
It’s within that three-hour block that people on Wegovy and related medications suffer. Because those medications ensure the body processes alcohol more slowly than it might otherwise, officers’ tests may not reflect the reality of a person’s intoxication. In fact, the BAC registered at the time of testing may be higher than it was at the time of driving.
Fortunately, DUI lawyers can challenge test results taken within this time frame via the “rising blood alcohol defense.” An experienced DUI defense lawyer can account for medication’s impact on a person’s BAC and suggest that failure to test a driver at the time of driving resulted in an unreasonable arrest.
It’s Time to Contact an Experienced Anaheim DUI Lawyer
If you get a DUI for driving on Wegovy, you have the right to reach out to an experienced attorney immediately if you’re arrested for driving under the influence. A criminal defense attorney can break down the logistics of the medication’s impact on your BAC and argue that inaccurate police procedures misrepresented the nature of a person’s intoxication.
What’s more, an attorney can protect arrestees from other rights violations, including the mishandling of evidence related to their arrest.
Fortunately, our team can put you in touch with an Anaheim DUI lawyer right away. The sooner you reach out, the easier it may be to protect yourself from the consequences of your wrongful arrest.
Don’t Let Wegovy Or Other Diabetes Drugs Put You At Risk for a DUI
Medications like Wegovy slow down the rate at which your body absorbs and processes alcohol. If you’re pulled over after a night out, police officers may come to the conclusion that you’re driving while drunk, even if you don’t feel intoxicated.
If you find yourself in such a position, we encourage you to speak with an experienced DUI lawyer as soon as possible. Our team can connect you with California DUI lawyers who can break down the logistics of the drugs you are on and their relationship with alcohol in your body. Certain drug exceptions may see the DUI charges brought against you dropped.
Do you need help challenging recent DUI charges? Let Los Angeles DUI Lawyer connect you with an experienced legal representative today.
