Drug Crimes, Substance Abuse legal question

[Ryan Smith]

Jurisdiction

Louisiana

can you be charged with a crime if you drive with an expired prescription in the vehicle? I have a presciption for a controled substance and sometimes bring that prescription with a few of its pills to a family member. The only issue i see is the prescription is expired.

 

[Zigner]

can you be charged with a crime if you drive with an expired prescription in the vehicle? I have a presciption for a controled substance and sometimes bring that prescription with a few of its pills to a family member. The only issue i see is the prescription is expired.

The prescription is the document that authorizes (1) the medication to be dispensed to you and (2) your possession of the medication. One does not generally carry the prescription itself once it has been filled.

So, your question is actually whether or not you are allowed to carry medication that was dispensed to you pursuant to a valid prescription.

Let me ask you this: For what purpose are you bringing the pills to a family member?

 

[Ryan Smith]

my family member was prescribed the same medicine but is no longer able to make it to the doctor but is dependent on the medicine. I bring the family member the medicine needed

 

[Ryan Smith]

I no longer am prescribed the medicine but have some of the medicine left over with the old prescription bottle

 

[Zigner]

my family member was prescribed the same medicine but is no longer able to make it to the doctor but is dependent on the medicine. I bring the family member the medicine needed

That is illegal. Your family member must have been prescribed the medication - you cannot provide it for the family member in the manner you are describing.

 

[adjusterjack]

can you be charged with a crime if you drive with an expired prescription in the vehicle? I have a presciption for a controled substance and sometimes bring that prescription with a few of its pills to a family member. The only issue i see is the prescription is expired.

No, that's not the only issue.

Providing the pills to a family member for whom they are not prescribed is a crime. The same as if you sold them to a stranger on the street.

 

[Ryan Smith]

Im not worried about the family member im worried about the expired prescription in the car

 

[Zigner]

Im not worried about the family member im worried about the expired prescription in the car

What you propose is ILLEGAL. There is no other way to say it.

 

[Ryan Smith]

whats the charge for having a controlled substance with expired date on the bottle in the vehicle

 

[adjusterjack]

my family member was prescribed the same medicine but is no longer able to make it to the doctor but is dependent on the medicine. I bring the family member the medicine needed

Then you are both complicit in a crime and you can both end up prosecuted.

 

[Red Kayak]

Im not worried about the family member im worried about the expired prescription in the car

What you SHOULD be worried about possession with the intent to distribute.

It is ILLEGAL to share prescription drugs, especially controlled substances. It's not like you're talking insulin or warfarin here.

Moreover, you should worry about the family member, because if they are harmed by the controlled substance, YOU could face charges.

 

[Zigner]

whats the charge for having a controlled substance with expired date on the bottle in the vehicle

We're not going to help you (and your family member) break the law.

 

[Red Kayak]

whats the charge for having a controlled substance with expired date on the bottle in the vehicle

In your case, "possession with the intent to distribute".

 

[army judge]

Im not worried about the family member im worried about the expired prescription in the car

Hmmm, what causes you to believe the RX is expired?

I ask that question because in addition to being an attorney, I'm a licensed osteopathic physician.

I write scripts.

There is no expiration date on my scripts, just the date I wrote the script.

Beyond that, if you gave the script to a pharmacist, the pharmacist filled the script, but should have kept it for the pharmacy's records and the DEA.

How or why do you still possess a script that you claim is expired, but has been filled?

Don't answer the question, I know the answer.

If you don't immediately change your behavior, you'll find yourself under arrest facing a drug charge.

The script isn't expired.

I can think of three things that it is, however.

 

[Zigner]

There is no expiration date on my scripts, just the date I wrote the script.

Prescriptions

The law places time limits on prescriptions. Depending on the drug, prescriptions expire after six months or one year from the date the prescription was issued.

 

[army judge]

Prescriptions

The law places time limits on prescriptions. Depending on the drug, prescriptions expire after six months or one year from the date the prescription was issued.

You've made my point.

Possessing the controlled substances and presenting an EXPIRED script to Officer Friendly isn't going to work, the way the presenter expects!!!

Do you understand why some mope would carry "an expired script"?


How Long Are Prescriptions Valid? What You Need to Know

 

[zddoodah]

my family member was prescribed the same medicine but is no longer able to make it to the doctor but is dependent on the medicine. I bring the family member the medicine needed

Your illegal distribution of prescription medication to someone to whom it wasn't prescribed should be of far greater concern to you than your transporting of the medication for which the prescription has expired.

 

[army judge]

'Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive,' is a very 'Shakespearean' phrase, however, it is not from Shakespeare.

It comes from an early nineteenth century Scottish author, Sir Walter Scott, best selling writer of novels, plays, and poems.

Like so very many of Shakespeare's lasting observations it's a beautifully expressed aphorism that uses just a few words to describe one life experience so perfectly, and is so true, that it enters into the English language and becomes one of its most powerful idioms – one that will last forever.

'Oh what a tangled web we weave/When first we practice to deceive' means that when you lie or act dishonestly you are initiating problems and a domino structure of complications which eventually spiral out of your control.

'Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave' Saying Origin & Meaning
...

 

[Ryan Smith]

the bottle says use before 3/15/23 and was filled 3/15/22
can I get in any kind of trouble with this in my possession?

 

[Red Kayak]

the bottle says use before 3/15/23 and was filled 3/15/22
can I get in any kind of trouble with this in my possession?

Yes. Possession with intent to distribute.