Sharing Prescription Medication Is Illegal

Sharing your prescription medication doesn’t feel like it should be illegal. If someone had a headache and asked for some aspirin, you’d gladly give it to them. Is it that much different to share higher-level painkillers? You got them legally, after all, with a valid prescription from your doctor. Can’t you do what you want with them?

Despite how it feels, though, this is illegal. The prescription itself says that you can buy and use the medication. That’s it. You’re not allowed to distribute it. This means, to begin with, that you can’t sell it. But you don’t have to do this for financial gain. You also cannot give away what you have, even to a close friend or another member of your family.

People do it anyway. One study found that more than a quarter of both men and women had engaged in the practice. These people are not drug dealers. They’re not trying to make money. They’re not even trying to make a little extra on the side. They’re often just trying to help, perhaps by giving the medication to someone who cannot afford to buy it on their own or who even cannot afford to go to the doctor.

Their intentions are good, but they simply do not understand what the law really prohibits. Unfortunately, if they get caught, the police are not going to be concerned with whether or not they knew what the law said. Their actions are illegal either way.

These types of arrests can accidentally change someone’s life forever. They must know what defense options they have and what steps to take.