Can you share your prescription medications?
Prescription medications are incredibly common in the United States. The number one prescription medication is Lipitor, but it still only makes up 7.5% of the total. That helps to underscore just how many drugs are being prescribed every day.
For instance, you may go to the hospital and get surgery. To help you recover, they’ll give you an opioid. Norco and Vicodin were both listed as some of the medications that get prescribed the most often in the United States. They each made the top 30. But there are definitely other opioids in use.
It is certainly legal for you to have this prescription medication. But what if a family member is dealing with some sort of pain and asks you to borrow it? Or what if a friend finds out that you had a few opioid pills left after you recovered, and they would like to use them? Since you got this medication legally, can you share it with whoever you want?
Sharing is still illegal
You actually cannot share prescription medication, even if it was legally obtained by you. Part of the stipulation when using these controlled substances is that the person with the prescription is the only one who can legally have them. As soon as you give them to someone else, you’ve illegally distributed those drugs and the other person has illegally possessed them. The mere fact that you had a prescription when you picked them up doesn’t change anything.
This can leave to some serious mistakes and complications. After all, you may have good intentions. The other person has come to you and asked to use the medication, you know how much that drug helped you, and you can see how the pills may help someone else. But, good intentions or otherwise, giving that person your medication is still illegal. You don’t even have to sell it to be breaking the law.
Are you facing charges?
If something like this has happened in your life and you are surprised by how serious the charges are that you’re facing, you can see why it’s so important to understand all of your legal defense options.