Methylamphetamine very effectively stimulates the central nervous system. A user can stay up for days, stave off hunger, and remain alert and vigilant. For this reason it was commonly given to soldiers during WWII as these effects are useful during prolonged battle. But eventually the body must rest and the result is a "crash" where the user's body says "no more" and forces the body to sleep.
Unfortunately, Mr. Jimenez was behind the wheel when he "crashed". He fell asleep and ran over two pedestrians, killing them. He was found guilty of, among other crimes, second degree murder upon the theory he was under the influence of methamphetamine when he killed the pedestrians.
A panel from the Fifth District affirms. Jimenez argues that he wasn't really "under the influence" of methylamphetamine, rather he fell asleep because he was crashing, kinda of the opposite of being under the influence. He argues had he been under the influence of methamphetamine there is no way he would have fallen asleep. Although this argument has some facial appeal, the panel digs a little deeper and finds that the "influence" of a drug is not limited to the drug's immediate or desired effects, rather a drug's influence includes its effects upon the body following the initial "high". So if meth causes a prolonged period of cerebral-spinal stimulation followed by a sleep-inducing "crash", that "crash" is part of the "influence" of the drug. Hence they find Jimenez was under the influence of meth when he fell asleep at the wheel.
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