When most people hear “DUI,” they think of alcohol. But in Pennsylvania, you can be arrested for DUI even if you haven’t had a single drink.

Pennsylvania law prohibits driving while impaired by marijuana, prescription medications, illegal drugs, a combination of drugs, or a combination of drugs and alcohol.

With law enforcement continuing to focus on drug-impaired driving, motorists in Bucks County need to understand that a DUI arrest is not limited to drunk driving.

  • IMPORTANT: You do not have to be drinking alcohol to be charged with DUI in Pennsylvania.

Arrested for Drugged Driving in Bucks County

What Is Drugged Driving in Pennsylvania?

Under Pennsylvania Vehicle Code §3802, it is illegal to drive, operate or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of a drug or combination of drugs to a degree that impairs your ability to drive safely. PA’s DUI law also specifically addresses driving with certain controlled substances or their metabolites in the blood.

A Drug-Related DUI Can Involve:

  • Marijuana including medical marijuana

  • Prescription medications even medications legally prescribed to you

  • Illegal drugs including cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin

  • Multiple drugs taken together

  • Alcohol combined with drugs or medications

Drug-Related DUI Can Involve Alcohol combined with drugs or medications
  • A PRESCRIPTION DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY PROTECT YOU FROM A DUI: Many drivers are surprised to learn that legally taking a prescription medication does not necessarily prevent a DUI charge. If a medication impairs your ability to safely operate a vehicle, you can still face arrest—even if you took the medication exactly as prescribed.

Marijuana and DUI in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana laws can create particular confusion for drivers.

Marijuana and DUI in Pennsylvania

Having a valid medical marijuana card does not give you the legal right to drive with marijuana in your system in violation of Pennsylvania’s DUI law.

Unlike a traditional alcohol DUI, where blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can be used to establish different levels of impairment, PA law treats Schedule I controlled substances differently.

The presence of a prohibited substance or metabolite in the blood can create a DUI issue even when the driver believes he or she is no longer impaired.

  • MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS TAKE NOTE: Legal authorization to use medical marijuana is not the same as legal authorization to drive after using it. If you use medical marijuana, understanding PA’s Marijuana DUI laws is especially important.

Pennsylvania Drugged Driving by the Numbers

Drug-impaired driving continues to be a significant part of PA’s impaired-driving landscape.

2025 PennDot PA Impaired Driving Statistics:

  • 8,658 crashes involving an impaired driver

  • 258 fatalities from impaired-driver crashes

  • 881 suspected serious injuries

  • 2,650 crashes involving a drugged driver

  • 132 fatalities in drugged-driver crashes

PennDot-Logo-x
  • THE BIG PICTURE: Drugged driving is not a minor subset of Pennsylvania DUI enforcement. In 2025 alone, 2,650 Pennsylvania crashes involved a drugged driver.

The Bucks County Impaired Driving Landscape

For drivers in Bucks County, drugged driving is not simply a statewide issue.

PennDOT distributes millions of dollars in federal funding each year for impaired-driving enforcement. In 2026, that statewide funding exceeds $6.7 million.

That means a driver stopped in Doylestown, Quakertown, and across Bucks County, may encounter officers trained to detect drug-related impairment.

A driver stopped in Doylestown, Quakertown, and across Bucks County, may encounter officers trained to detect drug-related impairment.

Enforcement strategies designed to identify impaired drivers, include:

  • BUCKS COUNTY DRIVERS TAKE NOTE: Police are trained to recognize signs of drug impairment—not just alcohol intoxication. Even if you haven’t had a drink, you could still face a DUI arrest.

What Is Pennsylvania’s Two-Hour Rule?

Pennsylvania’s DUI statute contains what is commonly referred to as the Two-Hour Rule.

For DUI offenses in which alcohol or controlled-substance concentration in the blood or breath is an element, the statute generally addresses chemical-test results obtained within two hours after driving.

However, there is an important exception.

Evidence from a sample obtained more than two hours after driving may still be admissible when the Commonwealth can establish:

  • Good cause for why the sample was not obtained within two hours; and

  • That the person did not consume alcohol or use a controlled substance between the arrest and collection of the sample.

PA’s DUI statute contains what is commonly referred to as the Two-Hour Rule.

  • DON’T ASSUME A LATE BLOOD DRAW ENDS THE CASE: The Two-Hour Rule can be an important issue in a DUI defense, but a test performed after two hours is not automatically invalid. Timing, testing procedures and the circumstances surrounding a blood draw should be carefully reviewed by an experienced Pennsylvania DUI defense attorney.

Prescription Drugs and PA’s Medically Impaired Driver Law

Drugged driving should not be confused with Pennsylvania’s separate Medically Impaired Driver Law.

DUI involving an impairing prescription medication

Under 75 Pa.C.S. §1518, certain health care professionals are required to report patients age 15 and older to PennDOT when they diagnose specified medical conditions that may affect the person’s ability to safely drive.

PennDOT states that reports generally are not required for conditions expected to last fewer than 90 days.

The reporting law is separate from a DUI prosecution, but both reflect PA’s focus on whether a person can safely operate a motor vehicle.

Can You Be Arrested for DUI If You’re Medically Restricted From Driving?

If PennDOT has recalled or restricted your driving privileges because of a medical condition, driving in violation of that action can result in legal consequences. If you are also impaired by prescription medication or other drugs, you could face a separate Drug DUI charge under Pennsylvania law.

However, being medically restricted from driving does not automatically constitute a DUI offense.

  • KEY DISTINCTION: A medical condition reported to PennDOT and a DUI involving an impairing prescription medication are two different legal matters. Either, however, can potentially affect your driving privileges.

Arrested for Drugged Driving in Bucks County?

Drug DUI cases can be considerably more complicated than they first appear.

Depending on the circumstances, your defense attorney may examine:

  • Whether police had legal grounds for the traffic stop

  • The officer’s observations and allegations of impairment
  • Field sobriety testing
  • Blood testing and the timing of the blood draw

  • Prescription medication use

  • Marijuana or marijuana metabolites detected in your blood

  • Whether drugs were actually affecting your ability to drive

  • Whether police and prosecutors followed Pennsylvania law

  • Whether you have a previous DUI or ARD case

Arrested for Drugged Driving in Bucks County

  • IMPORTANT: An arrest does not mean that a conviction is inevitable!

Why Hire Keith J. Williams for a DUI?

When you are facing a DUI charge, the attorney you choose matters.

With more than 40 years of DUI defense experience, Bucks County DUI defense attorney Keith J. Williams understands Pennsylvania DUI law and the local court system.

When You Hire Keith J. Williams Law:

  • Keith personally handles your case. Your defense is not handed off to an inexperienced associate.

  • Your case receives an individual defense strategy. DUI cases are not one-size-fits-all.

  • The evidence is carefully examined. That can include the traffic stop, field sobriety tests, chemical testing and other evidence being used against you.

  • You learn about your options. Depending on your circumstances, defenses, diversionary programs or other options may be available.

Bucks County, PA Courthouse

  • BEFORE YOU PLEAD GUILTY: Find out what defenses, programs and other options may be available in your case.

    If you’ve been arrested for an alcohol or drug-related DUI in Bucks County, get experienced legal advice before making decisions that could affect your driver’s license, criminal record, and future.

    Call Keith J. Williams Law at 215-340-1134 for a FREE Confidential DUI Consultation.