Anyone who has experienced severe or chronic pain knows how debilitating it can be. They know that over-the-counter medications fall woefully short for pain management in many cases. For example, those who have cracked a tooth may have more compassion for a neighbor who cannot afford a dentist for a root canal due to a lack of insurance coverage. Having experienced that pain themselves, they understand how hard it can be to manage daily life while dealing with oral pain.
Particularly when the person who doesn’t have access to traditional medical systems is a family member, friend, neighbor or coworker, people are often eager to propose potential solutions. Unfortunately, one seemingly simple solution could lead to very serious drug charges.
People cannot give away their extra medication
An adult who has previously dealt with a major medical issue or intractable pain may have controlled substances in their homes. Technically, their possession of those medications is legal because a doctor prescribed them for a valid medical condition.
However, it is still possible for people to break the law with substances they can legally possess. All it takes is a single transfer to another person for the prescription holder to be at risk of criminal prosecution. The sale of medication for money is not necessary to violate the law.
Just giving a single pill to an adult child complaining of a toothache could be enough to warrant criminal charges in some cases. Not only do people face prosecution for potentially life-altering felony offenses based on the weight of the medication they transferred, but they may be liable if the recipient does something unsafe.
Some people drive after taking mind-altering medication and then cause crashes. Others might have adverse reactions and could end up in the hospital or worse because of a medication that a doctor did not prescribe them. The party who provided the medication might then face charges related to the poor outcome for the recipient or the harm they caused others while under the influence.
Understanding how actions born of kindness could lead to drug charges may help people make better decisions when they have recommendations for controlled substances. The decision to share or transfer medication is a major risk that too many people overlook until it is too late.
