A prescription is the legal document you need to obtain medication. The prescription has to come from authorized medical personnel. You cannot forge such a document or alter a legal prescription in any way. Otherwise, you will commit a serious criminal offense, punishable by time in jail and a hefty court fine.
Prescription drugs are subject to strict regulations to avoid addiction and abuse. Laws ensure that only people with legal prescriptions can obtain medications over the counter. The penalties you receive for altering or forgoing a prescription depend on your criminal history and the kind of drugs you intend to buy with the illegal prescription.
It is advisable to seek the help and guidance of a skilled criminal attorney if you face charges for forging or altering a prescription in Bakersfield. We could help you understand your charges, options, and how you can fight for a favorable outcome at California Criminal Lawyer Group.
The Legal Meaning of Forging or Altering a Prescription
Drug use and abuse is an issue that has affected thousands of people across the globe. Fortunately, laws are there to regulate the use of specific controlled drugs, which include illegal substances like narcotics and some prescription medications. Prescription drugs are meant to make you feel better after an illness. However, some of these drugs have the potential for abuse and addiction, so the government regulates their sale and use. The problem is that most of these prescription drugs are readily available in healthcare centers and drug stores. That is why there are laws in place regulating how they are dispensed, to prevent abuse and addiction by people who should not have access to those drugs in the first place.
You need a valid prescription to buy regulated prescription medications from a healthcare center or drug store. The prescription should result from a proper diagnosis by a licensed medical practitioner. It should specify the dosage to treat your illness or condition. Thus, the prescription should identify the drugs you need and how to take them for your medical problem. You cannot forge a prescription to receive the drugs you want, even if you need the drugs for treatment. Once you receive a valid prescription, you cannot alter it in any way because that renders it invalid.
The law focuses on how medical staff must dispense particular drugs to their patients. Some drugs are safe, and you can quickly obtain them, even over the counter. However, some of these safe drugs must be used in moderation because a higher dosage or prolonged use can affect your normal bodily function or overall health. Some prescription drugs are highly addictive and could affect your emotional, cognitive, physical, and mental abilities. The strict guidelines surrounding the use of prescription medicines are for your safety. The laws also ensure that only people with genuine needs have access to those drugs.
The Controlled Substances Act mandates that only licensed medical practitioners, like doctors, dentists, and chiropractors, can prescribe some medicines when needed. They must ensure that you indicate the specific amount of drugs you need and how long you should take them. Sometimes, patients want to self-medicate. Other times, they feel like they need more of a particular drug than the medical practitioner has prescribed. That could prompt you to alter or forge a prescription to buy a specific controlled drug without a valid prescription. While that could seem like a fantastic plan, you risk criminal charges and severe consequences if the court finds you guilty of using a forged or altered medical prescription.
This offense is categorized under white-collar crimes because it is a non-violent offense committed for individual benefit. You can commit the crime as a person or organization. State and federal laws regulate white-collar crimes. This particular offense is covered under Health & Safety Code 11368. It applies to situations where you forge or alter a legitimate medical prescription. Forging a prescription means creating a fake one and passing it or trying to use it as a valid prescription. You can modify a valid prescription in many ways, including changing crucial details like the dosage or name. Here are some common ways in which people violate this law:
- Using or trying to use a forged or changed prescription from a licensed doctor.
- Making false statements to a doctor to unlawfully obtain a controlled drug.
- Obtaining and using, or trying to use someone else’s valid prescription for personal benefits.
- Forging a doctor’s signature on a prescription to receive medication unlawfully.
How Prosecutors Prove These Cases
You can violate HS 11368 in more than one way. The prosecutor considers the details of your case to determine whether to charge you under this statute or another. Remember that several laws regulate the sale and use of controlled substances. When the police arrest you for altering or forging a prescription, the prosecutor must prove all the elements of your offense for the jury to declare you guilty. They must demonstrate these elements, provided under the law, beyond a reasonable doubt.
The elements of an offense are the facts or particulars that make up that offense. They help you and others understand the offense and its lawful implications better. These elements are as follows:
- That you were in possession of a prescription.
- The document was not valid since you had forged or altered it.
- You knowingly used or tried to use it to obtain medication.
- You willingly presented falsified information to receive medication.
We will look at these elements in greater detail to understand the offense better:
What is a Prescription?
HS 11368 mainly focuses on prescription medicines. A prescription is an order or direction medical practitioners use to administer medications. Medical personnel provide prescriptions in writing to enable you to obtain the drugs you need for a particular treatment. They also provide instructions on taking those medications for the intended effect. Sometimes, a healthcare provider can provide phone, text, or email instructions. In any case, the prescription must include your name, the medication you need, the exact dosage, instructions on taking the medicine, the date the prescription was issued, and the name and contact details of the person giving the prescription.
The Controlled Substances Act provides that all prescriptions for medical drugs under categories II, III, and IV should only be valid for six months from their date of issuance. Once medical personnel issue a prescription, you must not alter it in any way, even by changing minor details like dates. Writing yourself or someone else a prescription and forging a medical personnel’s signature to make it valid is also a severe crime.
Altering a Prescription
Altering a valid prescription means changing the contents of an already-issued medical prescription. You could do that by changing the date, the dosage, or the patient’s details. For example, once you complete your dosage, you could alter the name of your previous prescription instead of obtaining another from your doctor. You will face criminal charges for this, even if you have a valid reason for doing so. For example, someone can change the date or previous prescription to a current one because they do not have time to obtain another one.
What matters is that you willingly changed a legitimate prescription. The dosage on your prescription specifies how you should take the prescribed drugs for the intended results. Changing that would also amount to altering a prescription. For example, some people increase the dose on their prescription to receive more drugs than they need.
Other people change the name of drugs on their valid prescriptions. For example, if the doctor prescribes a particular medication, not your preferred one. Doing so is also a criminal offense under this statute.
Forging a Prescription
HS 11368 prohibits altering or forging a valid medical prescription. Forging means creating a prescription and passing or trying to pass it legally. A prescription is an official document that you should not forge. When you forge a prescription, you include falsified information, including the drug name and dosage and a medical practitioner’s name and signature. You do that without the practitioner’s consent.
Example: James is unable to do without the pain medicines he has been taking since an accident he suffered two years ago. His doctor stopped prescribing the medicine a few months ago after realizing that James was no longer in pain, so he no longer needed the painkillers. But recently, James learned the trick of prescribing himself like his doctor did. He successfully used two forged prescriptions to obtain the painkillers before his arrest.
James is already guilty of forging and using a forged medical prescription to buy drugs he should not have used in the first place. He will still be guilty under this statute even if he has not succeeded in using the fake prescription to receive drugs.
Uttering a Fake Prescription
You could also be guilty under this law for uttering a fake prescription. Remember that some medical personnel issue prescriptions over the phone, by word of mouth, or through texts or email. Some people take advantage of this to utter fake prescriptions to obtain controlled medication unlawfully. Other people use false words or actions to communicate a need for certain drugs. Receiving medicine by any means can result in criminal charges under this statute. Here are examples of ways you can utter a fake prescription:
- Lying about your doctor’s recommendation or approval to obtain a specific, regulated medication.
- Lying to a drug store attendant that your physician has given you a particular prescription on the phone or by word of mouth.
Which Medications are Controlled?
Typically, medications are produced to make people feel better after an illness. However, some medicines have side effects that result from excess or prolonged usage. These are the drugs that the government controls under the Controlled Substances Act. The drugs are controlled because they could interfere with the body’s normal function if used in excess or for prolonged periods. Under the law, controlled medical drugs are many. You need a valid prescription with a precise dosage to obtain these medications.
The Controlled Substances Act classifies drugs according to their likelihood of addiction or abuse. Some drugs are more severe than others. Thus, the severity of your charges under this law will depend on the kind of medication you intend to obtain using a fake or altered prescription. Note that the law covers medicines used by humans and animals alike. Typically, controlled substances fall under five schedules. Schedule I and most Schedule II drugs lack medicinal importance. They also have the highest potential for abuse and addiction. That is why they are considered the most dangerous controlled drugs.
Most medications are regulated under Schedules III, IV, and V. They include painkillers, antidepressants, and steroids. Schedule V drugs have the least potential for abuse and addiction. But still, doctors must prescribe them carefully to protect their patient’s well-being. They can be dangerous if used in large quantities or for prolonged periods.
Possible Penalties for a Conviction under HS 11368
Drug-related and white-collar offenses are some of the most severely punished crimes under the law. You will likely receive a conviction and a sentence if a jury trial finds you guilty of altering or forging a prescription. The offense is mainly a wobbler, meaning the prosecutor can charge you with a felony or misdemeanor. The prosecutor’s decision is based on the details of your case and your criminal history.
When filing charges against first-time offenders, prosecutors could be a little lenient. Thus, you will likely face a misdemeanor charge if this is your first offense under this law. But the prosecutor must also consider the nature of the drug you intended to obtain and how much harm you or someone else could have suffered through your actions.
The prosecutor could also consider your intention to decide how to file charges against you. For example, they will consider whether you need the drug for personal use because you are addicted or if you intend to sell or transfer it illegally to another person. Typically, obtaining a controlled drug for sale is more severe and could result in felony charges.
Whether the prosecutor files misdemeanor or felony charges against you, you need legal help to understand and fight your charges. Thus, hiring a criminal attorney right after arrest is an excellent idea. They will have enough time to study your case’s details and develop fighting strategies that could result in a favorable outcome.
Here are possible penalties if a jury trial finds you guilty of a misdemeanor under this law:
- A maximum jail time of one year.
- Misdemeanor probation.
- A maximum of $1,000 in court fines.
If the prosecutor files felony charges against you and a jury trial finds you guilty, you will receive the following penalties:
- 16 months, 2 or 3 years in prison.
- Felony probation.
- A maximum of $10,000 in court fines.
The judge can sentence you to probation instead of jail or prison time. It means you will serve your sentence out of detention and can typically stay with your family and work. Misdemeanor probations are relatively shorter than felony probations. However, the judge determines how long you will be on probation and the probation conditions you must abide by. For example, they could require you to stay out of legal trouble while on probation, engage in community service, and remain within the court’s jurisdiction. While on misdemeanor probation, you must submit progress reports periodically to the judge. But if you are on felony probation, a probation officer will closely monitor your progress and write a report for the judge.
A criminal conviction has other consequences you should be aware of. For example, it will leave you with a damaging criminal record that will significantly affect several areas of your life. Your criminal record will continue to affect your life even after you complete your sentence and pay all court fines. It could influence how you find jobs, how to rent, a business premise to lease, and insurance services. A felony conviction will also affect your gun rights.
That is why you must engage a competent criminal attorney from the beginning of the legal process. That improves your chances of obtaining a fair outcome for your situation.
Fighting Your Charges Under HS 11368
When you face a jury trial after an arrest, you are allowed a chance to defend yourself. That is what makes jury trials fair. Defending yourself means that you can present evidence and arguments to counter the prosecutor’s case. You could compel the judge to reduce or dismiss your charges if successful. You will likely succeed at this if you have the help of a skilled criminal attorney. Criminal attorneys can use various legal defense strategies to fight charges and obtain favorable outcomes in criminal cases. Here are some of the techniques your attorney can use in your case:
You Are Addicted to the Drug
Since addiction is a severe issue, the judge could be lenient during sentencing. But you must demonstrate that you are addicted and that the addiction drove you into forging or altering a valid prescription. However, the judge will only accept your defense if you have a proper diagnosis of the addiction. A skilled attorney will help you obtain the appropriate evidence and present it in court in a way that will compel the judge to reduce your charges. If you are addicted, the appropriate sentence should be treatment and rehabilitation instead of punishment.
Thus, the judge could place you on probation instead of jailing you. They could order you to attend group or individual counseling and drug treatment during the probation period. But you could be required to submit to random drug searches and tests. If you violate your probation, you risk going to prison or jail for the recommended period. Having your conviction expunged after completing your sentence could also be a challenge.
You Are Legally Allowed To Write Prescriptions
It is not unusual for a medical practitioner to face charges for writing or altering a prescription. If this happens to you, your attorney can demonstrate in court that you are a medical practitioner with the authority to write prescriptions. They will also present your practicing license and any necessary documents as evidence to support your claim. If someone accuses you of altering or forging a prescription and your job description allows it, you can use this defense strategy to compel the judge to dismiss your charges.
Your Confession was Coerced
Sometimes, it is challenging for the police to obtain evidence, especially when investigating white-collar crimes. These crimes are committed by respectable members of society who would do everything possible to conceal evidence. In some cases, the police use other strategies to obtain a confession. For example, they use tricks, entrapment, and even coercion. However, some police strategies are illegal and could result in a case dismissal.
An experienced criminal attorney will not let you face conviction if the police used unlawful methods to obtain a conviction. If they present this argument in court, the judge will dismiss all evidence obtained through coercion. That leaves the prosecutor with insufficient evidence to support the charges.
You Are Falsely Accused
False accusations are also widespread. Some people falsely accuse innocent others of crimes the innocent have not committed. Someone could lodge a false allegation against you for revenge or to gain an advantage over you. A skilled attorney can provide the evidence and arguments the jury needs to be convinced that you did not commit the offense. If that works, the judge will dismiss your charges.
Find a Competent Criminal Lawyer Near Me
Are you or someone you love facing criminal charges for forging or altering a valid medical prescription in Bakersfield?
Those severe charges could result in incarceration and a hefty court fine. But you can change the outcome of your case with the help of a skilled criminal lawyer.
We have superb skills and experience handling all kinds of white-collar crimes at California Criminal Lawyer Group. Thus, we could be your best bet in obtaining a fair outcome for your case. With our assistance, you can enjoy a streamlined legal process, a better understanding of your options, and the best defense strategies against your charges. Call us at 661-750-8230 for more information about us and your charges.
