As of July 1, 2024, a person who was administered an opioid antagonist is presumed to be impaired while driving for the next 24 hours. This law is also known as the “Ben Kredich Act.” Allow me to explain further.
According to The Cleveland Clinic, opioid antagonists are medications that block the effects of opioids. Common types include naloxone and naltrexone. Opioid antagonists help treat opioid overdose, opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder and opioid-induced constipation. Tennessee Code Annotated Section 63-1-152 defines an “opioid antagonist” as, “a formulation of naloxone hydrochloride or another similarly acting and equally safe drug approved by the United States food and drug administration for the treatment of a drug-related overdose.”
Under Tennessee Code Annotated Section 55–10–458(a), for the purpose of proving a violation of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, evidence that the person was suspected to be impaired due to the sedative or otherwise intoxicating effects of a controlled substance, as defined in Tennessee Code Annotated Section § 39-17-402, and was administered within twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time of the alleged violation, an opioid antagonist, as defined in Tennessee Code Annotated § 63-1-152, for an opioid-related overdose creates a presumption that the defendant’s ability to drive was sufficiently impaired by the controlled substance that caused the opioid-related overdose to constitute a DUI violation.
In order to notify individuals who receive an opioid antagonist about the potential dangers and legal responsibilities, a first responder who administers an opioid antagonist to an individual experiencing an opioid-related overdose may provide information on the risks associated with driving for a twenty-four-hour period following administration of this medication. See, T.C.A. § 55-10-458(b). The problem however, is that several of these opioid antagonist are available as over-the-counter medication. Accordingly, if a blood sample is drawn from an offender, the opioid antagonist may be detected and, depending on the levels of the medication, may be used as a presumption of intoxication.
About the Author: Steven Oberman has been licensed in Tennessee since 1980, and successfully defended over 2,500 DUI defendants. Steve was the first lawyer in Tennessee to be Board Certified as a DUI Defense Specialist by the National College for DUI Defense, Inc. (NCDD). Among the many honors bestowed upon him, Steve has served as Dean of the NCDD and currently serves as chair of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers DUI Committee.
He is the author of DUI: The Crime & Consequences in Tennessee, updated annually since 1991 (Thomson-West), and co-author with Lawrence Taylor (1942 – 2023) of the national treatise, Drunk Driving Defense, 9th edition (Wolters Kluwer/Aspen). Steve has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee Law School since 1993 and has received a number of prestigious awards for his faculty contributions. He is a popular international speaker, having spoken at legal seminars in 30 states, the District of Columbia and 10 foreign countries. After being named a Fulbright Scholar, Steve was honored to teach as a Visiting Professor at the University of Latvia Faculty of Law (Law School) in the capital city of Riga, Latvia for a semester during 2019. In 2023, Steve was accepted an offer to teach for a semester as a Visiting Professor at Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law in Budapest, Hungary. Steve was designated a Fulbright Scholar for a second time and taught American Criminal Law and American Trial Advocacy at The University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law in the capital city of Ljubljana, Slovenia for the 2024 spring semester. If you would like to contact the author, please visit his website at www.tndui.com.
