Following a rollover car accident near Jupiter Island, Florida in March 2026, legendary professional golfer Tiger Woods was arrested and charged with his second DUI. However, his encounters with drug abuse aren’t limited just to the two arrest charges on his record – rather, his recent arrest is just the latest in a lengthy battle the golfer has had with prescription medication misuse.
Here’s everything you need to know about the widespread use of prescription pain medication in professional sports, the side effects of misusing and abusing opioid painkillers, and more as it relates back to the recent arrest and car crash involving Tiger Woods.
Tiger Woods’ Experience with Prescription Opioids is Common Amongst Professional Athletes
GettySTUART, FLORIDA – MARCH 27: Tiger Woods is driven from the Martin County Jail after being arrested for driving under the influence after a car crash on March 27, 2026 in Stuart, Florida. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said that Woods and the other driver involved in the two-car crash in Jupiter Island, Florida, were not injured. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods was first arrested with a DUI charge in 2017 when he was found asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle on the side of the road by law enforcement, according to ESPN. When the results of toxicology tests were returned, it was discovered that Woods had at least five unique substances in his system that are each known to cause impairment on their own – not to even mention the side effects when combined. At the time, the substances detected in the golfer’s system included two prescription painkillers, hydrocodone and Dilaudid, along with a benzodiazepine, Xanax, Ambien, and marijuana.
To excuse the findings of the toxicology results, Woods relied on the fact that he’d undergone several back surgeries and medical procedures which left him with persistent pain. A few years later in 2021, he was involved in a car accidental that saw him undergo several more operative medical treatments as he continued to concurrently address his pre-existing chronic pain.
When the lens is scaled back, Tiger Woods isn’t necessarily the exception to prescription opioid use amongst professional athletes, though there must be a firm distinction between medication use taken as prescribed and prescription medication misuse/abuse wherein misuse refers to the incorrect use of a substance – often unknowingly – while abuse refers to the deliberate intake of an excess quantity or amount of a prescription medication. A 2020 study in Sports Health found that more than half of NFL players had been prescribed and/or taken prescription pain medication – most often opioid painkillers – at some point in the year prior. However, this doesn’t mean that every professional player given the medication misused or abused it, but it does illustrate how prevalent this type of prescription pharmaceutical substance is amongst professional athletes.
The Dangers of Prescription Opioid Misuse and Abuse
GettyTiger Woods’ latest incident has prompted plenty of concern.
At the time of his second DUI arrest on Friday, March 27, 2026, Tiger Woods was found with prescription hydrocodone – an opioid painkiller that is frequently prescribed under the brand name Vicodin – by law enforcement at the scene of the rollover car accident caused by Woods’ use of extreme speeds on a narrow roadway. It’s one thing to be prescribed opioid pain medication when a medical professional believes that it will truly benefit a patient, and then for the patient to take the medication as prescribed – including refraining from driving a car after ingesting the opioid substance, but another thing entirely to take a substance like hydrocodone and then get behind the wheel.
According to Addiction Center, hydrocodone is one of many types of opioid pain medication that can produce feelings of relaxation and euphoria in those who take it – but it can also result in significant cognitive function and impairment akin to consuming alcohol and becoming intoxicated. This is why life-threatening dangers can be posed if someone taking a prescription medication which causes serious side effects then attempts to drive a car, as Woods did last week. The danger isn’t just to the person taking the medication, but to everyone else on the road.
Other serious and life-threatening side effects of prescription opioid misuse and abuse are often exacerbations of standard side effects to the safe dosages dispensed by licensed pharmacies, though they can extend to life-altering incapacitation and even death in some circumstances. In particular, opioid use can lead to respiratory depression that can be fatal as reported by Michigan Medicine. Combine respiratory depression with extreme fatigue and relaxation, the result is more than likely a recipe for extreme life-changing disaster if a person taking these substances then attempts to drive a vehicle.
If you or anyone you know may be struggling with alcohol or drug-related issues, dependence, or abuse, contact SAMHSAâs national hotline at 1-800-662-4357 or visit their website here. You can also contact the 988 Lifeline by dialing 988 or visiting their website here. Â
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