Most individuals need some sort of medication at some point in their lives either due to an illness or injury. If you need a prescription, you likely plan on following the instructions given by your doctor when it comes to taking the medication. Of course, you may find that you do not need the entirety of the prescription and end up with some left over.
Leftover medicine is not unusual, but the way in which you attend to those pills could make the difference between a harmless situation and potentially facing criminal charges. Though the latter may seem extreme, if you choose to share your medication with another individual, you could end up in a serious legal predicament.
Drug sharing
It may come as a surprise to learn that numerous individuals do not legally obtain their pain relief medication. A report indicated that 71 percent of Americans who used pain pills non-medically obtained them through means other than a direct prescription from a physician. That percentage breaks down into the following categories:
- 55 percent of individuals obtained medication from family or friends for free
- 11 percent of users paid for the medication from family or friends
- 5 percent of those parties took pills from someone without permission
If you knowingly provide medication to someone, it may feel like an innocent act, but your actions actually violate drug laws.
Discovery of sharing
If you only provide pills to close family or friends, you may believe you can fly under the radar. While getting caught carrying out such actions may prove difficult, the possibility does exist that you could suffer negative consequences. Another individual could inform police of your drug-sharing actions or someone could suffer an overdose due to the medication you provided.
When your sharing habits are discovered or your prescriptions have a negative impact on someone else, you could find yourself in serious legal trouble. If you carry out actions in which you sell medication to other people regularly, the repercussions of those actions may prove more severe.
Criminal charges
If criminal charges for dealing drugs or other similar charges have been leveled against you due to such circumstances, you may feel at a lost when it comes to handling those allegations. Luckily, you do have a variety of legal defense options that you could explore in hopes of finding the approach that best suits your particular needs.
