RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Defense of Involuntary Intoxication by Prescribed Medications: An Appellate Case Review
JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law
FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
SP 321
OP 328
VO 43
IS 3
A1 Jennifer Piel
YR 2015
UL http://jaapl.org/content/43/3/321.abstract
AB The defense of involuntary intoxication has long been an exception to the general notion that intoxication is not a defense to criminal liability. The consumption of medications prescribed by a physician can form the basis of an involuntary-intoxication defense. In this article, I review cases where defendants relied on the use of prescribed medications for an involuntary-intoxication defense. The medications most frequently implicated by defendants are listed by name and by class. From the case law, I provide a summary of the defense and a review of the pitfalls of the defense to serve as practice pointers for forensic evaluators.