Consultation: ‘Driving under the influence of drugs is punishable only if it creates danger’

Rome, 28 January (LaPresse) – The new wording of Article 187 of the Highway Code is not constitutionally illegitimate, provided that it is interpreted to mean that only those who drive in conditions that create a danger to road safety can be punished. This was established by the Constitutional Court in its ruling number 10 of 2026, filed today. Three judges had expressed doubts about the constitutional legitimacy of the amendment to Article 187 made in 2024. Until then, the law punished those who drove ‘in a state of mental and physical alteration after taking’ narcotic substances. The 2024 legislature eliminated the requirement of psycho-physical impairment, in view of the difficulties of proof that had been encountered in practice, with the result that the law now simply punishes driving “after taking” narcotic substances. According to the referring judges, the new wording would make it possible to punish anyone who has taken drugs at any time prior to driving: hypothetically, even days, weeks or months before. It would therefore produce unreasonable and disproportionate results, criminalising even conduct that is completely harmless to road safety; it would not allow for the precise identification of punishable conduct; and it would lead to unreasonable disparities in treatment with regard, inter alia, to the rules governing the offence of driving under the influence of alcohol.