Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”
Many people have heard of the sleep drug Ambien (also known as zolpidem) and may also have heard stories about bizarre behavior linked to taking the prescription medication. Though these stories are usually just oddities, like sleep walking or talking, there have been other reports of more dangerous actions that can lead to serious harm to others.
In some cases those under the influence of zolpidem have been found driving, walking down the street and even preparing food while seemingly asleep. Even more worrying are several reports of otherwise happy people with no previous history of violence brutally murdering loved ones after taking Ambien. These “Ambien zombies” claim to have no memory of their actions and are shocked when they awaken to find out what they have done.
An interesting article by a medical research website discussed several cases of murders committed while defendants were under the influence of Ambien and revealed how difficult it can be to explain how the drug can impact a person’s brain to both judges and juries.
Amazingly, one of the three murder cases discussed in the article took place in North Carolina when a heavily armed man stormed into the nursing home where his estranged wife worked and shot eight people to death. The terrible incident occurred back in 2009 and the defendant later claimed that he was under the influence of Ambien at the time.