Can You Get A DUI Without Drinking In Virginia?

TL;DR:

You can be charged with a DUI in Virginia even if you haven’t been drinking. The law prohibits driving under the influence of any substance that affects your ability to drive safely, including prescription drugs or fatigue. These cases often rely on officer observations and blood tests rather than a breath test. If you face such a charge, protect yourself early by contacting a defense attorney familiar with Virginia’s DUI process and local courts.

Most people think of a DUI as a “drunk driving” charge, but in Virginia, alcohol isn’t the only reason someone can be arrested. The law makes it illegal to drive while impaired by any substance that affects your ability to operate a vehicle safely, including prescription medication, over-the-counter drugs, or even extreme fatigue.

For many people, this comes as a shock. Maybe you took pain medication as prescribed or didn’t realize your cold medicine could make you drowsy. Maybe you hadn’t slept in 20 hours and drifted for a moment behind the wheel. Whatever the reason, you can still face the same criminal penalties as someone over the legal alcohol limit. If you’re in this situation, it’s important to understand what the law says and what steps you can take to protect yourself.

Understanding Virginia’s DUI Law & What It Covers

Virginia law doesn’t just target alcohol-related driving. Under Virginia Code § 18.2-266, it’s illegal to operate a motor vehicle “under the influence of alcohol, any narcotic drug, or any other self-administered intoxicant or drug” that impairs your ability to drive safely. In short, it’s not what you took, but how it affected your driving.

What Counts As Impairment

Police and prosecutors focus on how your condition affected your coordination, reaction time, and judgment. Even if your blood alcohol content (BAC) is below 0.08% or zero, officers can still charge you if they believe you were impaired by another substance.

Common Non-Alcohol DUI Triggers

• Prescription painkillers (e.g., oxycodone, hydrocodone).
• Anti-anxiety medications or sleep aids (e.g., Xanax, Ambien).
• Antihistamines or cold medicines that cause drowsiness.
• Marijuana or other controlled substances.
• Severe fatigue that mimics intoxication.

Each case turns on evidence: test results, officer statements, and how the arrest was handled. If the process was flawed, if the stop lacked probable cause, or the blood sample wasn’t properly collected, your criminal defense lawyer in Manassas can challenge that evidence in court.

How Prescription Medications & Legal Drugs Can Lead To DUI Charges

You can be charged with DUI in Virginia even when every pill you took was prescribed by your doctor. The law doesn’t care whether the drug was legal; it cares whether you were impaired while driving.

Prescription medications can slow your reflexes, blur vision, or cause confusion. That’s enough for an officer to say your “ability to operate safely” was affected under § 18.2-266. Common culprits include:

• Pain relievers like Vicodin or Percocet.
• Anti-anxiety or sleep medications such as Xanax, Valium, or Ambien.
• Antidepressants that cause drowsiness or delayed reaction time.
• Cold medicines with codeine or diphenhydramine.

Even over-the-counter pills can lead to charges if they make you tired or dizzy. A label warning like “may cause drowsiness, use caution when driving” can become evidence in your case.

Can Fatigue Lead To A Charge?

It surprises many drivers to learn that you can be charged with DUI in Virginia even when you haven’t taken a single substance. Extreme exhaustion can impair you just as much as alcohol or drugs.

Studies show that being awake for more than 20 hours can affect driving as much as having a BAC of 0.08%. Fatigue can cause:

• Slower reaction times.
• Trouble focusing or maintaining lane position.
• Poor judgment during emergencies.
• Microsleep—brief, uncontrollable moments of sleep.

While Virginia doesn’t have a separate “drowsy driving” statute, prosecutors can use the general DUI law or charge reckless driving if fatigue leads to unsafe behavior or a crash.

What Happens After A Non-Alcohol DUI Arrest & What To Do Next

Being arrested for a DUI when you haven’t been drinking can feel unfair and confusing. The process moves quickly, and what you do in the first few days can affect your case.

1. The Traffic Stop

Officers usually start with a traffic violation: swerving, running a light, or speeding. If they notice drowsiness, confusion, or slow reactions, they may ask you to perform field sobriety tests. These tests are subjective. Uneven pavement, fatigue, or medical conditions can all cause poor performance.

2. The Arrest & Testing

If the officer believes you’re impaired, they can arrest you and request a blood test instead of a breath test. Blood samples are analyzed for drugs or medications. Results often take weeks to return, and errors in how the sample is handled or stored can make results unreliable.

3. The Court Process

After your arrest, you’ll receive a court date for arraignment, usually within a few days. That’s when you’ll formally hear the charge and can request legal representation. The prosecutor may rely on the officer’s observations, test results, and any video from the patrol car.

A defense lawyer can:

• Request all bodycam and dashcam footage.
• Review test records and lab certifications.
• Challenge whether the officer had legal grounds for the stop.
• Seek to exclude evidence collected improperly.

4. Protecting Yourself Early

The most important step after a DUI arrest, whether alcohol-related or not, is to speak with an attorney before you explain anything to police or prosecutors.

Keep your paperwork, prescriptions, and medical documentation. Write down what happened from the moment you were stopped. Small details: lighting, road conditions, timing, can make a difference later.

5. Emotional & Personal Impact

A DUI charge can ripple far beyond court. It can affect your job, your driver’s license, your insurance rates, and your relationships. Recognizing that stress is normal. What matters now is getting reliable guidance and understanding your options before your first hearing.

Possible Defenses & How A DUI Attorney Can Help

A DUI case that doesn’t involve alcohol often depends on interpretation, not hard numbers. That means there’s room to challenge what the police saw, how the tests were handled, and whether the evidence truly proves impairment.

Challenging The Stop

Every DUI case starts with a traffic stop. Officers must have reasonable suspicion that a law was broken. If they pulled you over without a clear reason, like weaving within your lane or simply “looking tired,” your lawyer can move to suppress everything that followed, including test results.

Questioning The Field Sobriety Tests

Field tests are designed for alcohol, not fatigue or medication. If you have balance issues, anxiety, or a medical condition, the results can look worse than they are. Bodycam footage often shows inconsistencies between what the officer wrote and what actually happened.

Examining The Blood Test

Blood tests must follow strict procedures under Virginia law. Each step, collection, sealing, transport, and analysis has to meet chain-of-custody rules. If a vial was mishandled, mislabeled, or tested by an unqualified technician, those results can be thrown out.

Proving Non-Impairment

Just because a substance appears in your bloodstream doesn’t mean it makes you unsafe to drive. Your attorney may bring in a toxicologist to explain that the medication levels were too low to impair you or that the drug’s effects had already worn off.

Highlighting Legitimate Medical Or Physical Causes

Medical conditions such as diabetes, neurological disorders, or exhaustion from shift work can mimic impairment. A doctor’s letter or employment record can show the court that there was another explanation for your behavior.

The goal in every situation is the same: ensure the court sees the full picture, not just a snapshot from a single night.

Protect Your Rights & Your Future

If you’re facing a DUI charge in Virginia, even if you hadn’t been drinking, you don’t have to face it alone. Many good people find themselves in this situation after taking medication, driving home tired, or simply being misunderstood during a traffic stop. What matters now is taking steady, informed action to protect yourself.

At The Irving Law Firm, we know how stressful this can be. A single charge can affect your job, your driver’s license, and your peace of mind. Our attorneys take the time to hear your story, examine every piece of evidence, and build a defense based on facts and fairness. We review the stop, analyze the test, and work to challenge unreliable or unlawfully obtained evidence whenever the law supports it.

Your future deserves a full defense. If you or someone you care about has been charged with DUI in Manassas or anywhere in Northern Virginia, reach out today. Schedule a confidential consultation with our team, and we’ll explain your options, guide you through the process, and help you take back control of your case.