Intoxication occurs when a person has ingested alcohol by drinking beer, wine, or distilled spirits. The more a person ingests, the more intoxicated they become. The rate at which a body processes alcohol through the liver is what causes drunkenness.
For example, most people can process eight ounces of alcohol in an hour. That means you will not necessarily be drunk if you only have one drink and let it process out of your system. It also depends on your weight and health condition and other factors, such as whether you also ate food.
Once you have consumed too much alcohol, you will become physically and mentally impaired, which is legally defined as the inability to function normally in terms of focus, concentration, speech, and behavior. That constitutes a drunk condition and is verified through a blood alcohol content test. A person who is drunk cannot make sound judgments when operating a vehicle and, in turn, poses a serious risk to themselves and other drivers on the road.