Question:  I was visiting some friends in Marietta, Georgia, and I never thought I'd get a DUI, but I did. I didn't have anything to drink but the Cobb cop gave me a DUI for being on drugs; the citation says DUI-drugs.

But the thing is, I take a prescription drug, Ambien. Sometimes I can't get to sleep because I think I travel too much for work. I can be in Florida one day, California the next and then I'm somewhere in Europe, Russia or India. I work in technology and we sell products all over the word. I think I need another job because my boss is a jerk, but that's another matter.

I was visiting with some friends who I knew at Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University, where I studied engineering. I stayed in a hotel in Marietta. But I took some Ambien to fall asleep and the next thing I knew I woke-up in the hospital. I wasn't in an accident but the doctors said the police took me there after they found me sleeping in my car in a turning lane.

The Cobb police charged me for DUI drugs, and now I need a Cobb County DUI lawyer. But I don't take drugs; I don't use pot, cocaine or meth or anything like that.

I want to know if you can get a DUI just because you take prescription medication, which my doctor said I need. I may have had a beer or two with the Ambien, but I don't know if that would cause me to not remember what happened and for me to get into trouble. I always thought DUI was about people getting drunk and driving or people using drugs and driving.

P.C. Marietta, Georgia

Answer:  There are many people arrested in Georgia every year because of DUI-drugs. Many of these people are not using illegal drugs, but are simply taking prescription medicine for a physical or mental issue. Although many people assume that a DUI is only for drinking and driving or driving under the influence of illegal substances, they are wrong.

We have had a number of clients who were charged with DUI-drugs from the use of Ambien. Ambien (zolpidem) is a powerful sedative, also called a hypnotic. The drug impacts chemicals in the brain that may be unbalanced in people with insomnia.

Ambien's side effects have been documented to include:

• dizziness
• weakness
• feeling "drugged" or light-headed
• sluggishness
• hallucinations
• diarrhea

There are many stories of people doing and saying very strange things on Ambien; things they don't remember the next day. Some of the more bizarre stories can involve guns, knives, sex and massive eating binges.

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