Question: My daughter got arrested in Marietta for DUI.  She was arrested by the Cobb County police.  She is a student at Kennesaw State University and she wants to be a nurse.  She was studying late with some friends when one of the girls showed them how to “smoke alcohol.”  My daughter explained that they vaporized alcohol and inhaled it and got drunk.  So she didn't actually drink it.  She inhaled the fumes.  She said that it's a popular thing to do at colleges and in high schools.

On her way to get a late night snack she got pulled over for weaving and speeding and she was arrested.  I was wondering that since she really didn't have anything to drink if that can help out her DUI situation?  Have you heard of people “smoking alcohol” because I had not heard of such a thing?  Her blood alcohol level on the test was .210.

Answer:We have heard of this dangerous trend for getting intoxicated and we have had clients who were arrested for DUI and other crimes after taking part in it.  “Smoking alcohol” or “vaping alcohol” allows an individual to inhale an alcohol mist that passes directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the stomach and liver.

A person gets drunk much more quickly from inhaling alcohol than by drinking it.  Also, it is much harder for most people to regulate how much they consume by inhalation because there is not the specific amount of alcohol contained in a can of beer or bottle of liquor.  This can cause people to become much more drunk.  It is a lot more dangerous than drinking because the alcohol passes directly into the bloodstream so a person will not become gradually intoxicated – a person will become rapidly drunk.  And because it passes right into the blood, vomiting will not help expel the alcohol.  So the chance of getting alcohol poisoning or worse is substantially enhanced when vaporizing alcohol.

The fact that your daughter didn't actually “drink” any alcohol is, in this case, legally irrelevant.  The prosecution can demonstrate that that she was a “less safe” driver due to, among other things, her BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of .210, which is well over twice the .08 per se legal limit.

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