You do not have to look very far to find people whose path to sobriety began with getting arrested for drug possession or another drug-related offense. Stories like these appear on the testimonials sections of the websites of addiction treatment facilities, as well as on YouTube channels about addiction and sobriety. This is only the best-case scenario, though. The strength of the human spirit makes it so that many people who have received criminal penalties focus more on the opportunities and relationships they have than on the injustices they have suffered.
Almost everyone who has been convicted of drug possession and served a probation or prison sentence would be in a better position, though, if they did not have a criminal conviction on their record. Incarceration does not cure addiction, though, and people who have received one drug-related conviction are vulnerable to receiving another. The best thing you can do when police find prescription drugs in your possession and allege that you do not have a legal right to possess these drugs is to hire a criminal defense lawyer to help you get acquitted or get the charges dropped. The New Jersey prescription drug offense lawyers at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall can help you emerge from your prescription drug offenses case without a criminal record.
Illegal Use of Prescription Drugs Is Widespread in New Jersey
The drugs that get the most publicity and strike the most fear in people’s hearts are either Schedule I controlled substances, such as heroin, which are never legal, or else they are Schedule II controlled substances, such as fentanyl and cocaine, which can be administered in hospital settings for a limited number of medical uses, or methamphetamine, which is an ingredient in prescription drugs which, in practice, are rarely prescribed. Despite this, the illegal use of prescription pills makes up a large portion of illegal drug use. The pills mills of Florida that flooded large parts of the country with prescription opioid painkillers have long since closed down, but abuse of prescription drugs remains widespread. These are some of the prescription drugs most commonly involved in criminal cases related to the illegal possession of controlled substances:
- Opioid painkillers such as oxycodone (an ingredient in OxyContin and Percocet, among other prescription drugs) and hydrocodone (an ingredient in Vicodin)
- Benzodiazepines such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium)
- Stimulants such as amphetamine (Adderall) and methylphenidate (Ritalin) prescribed to treat
- Promethazine cough syrup (an ingredient in lean)
According to New Jersey law, you can be convicted of illegal possession of a prescription drug if police find the drug in your possession and if they have evidence that you do not have a valid prescription to possess the drug.
Penalties for Illegal Possession of Prescription Drugs
The law imposes the same penalties for illegal possession of controlled substances, regardless of whether the controlled substance belongs to Schedule I, Schedule II, or Schedule III; most prescription drugs popular for recreational use fall into one of these categories. Therefore, which drug you possess is less important, from a legal perspective, than the quantity in which you possess it. You get the same penalties for a conviction for possession of 10 Xanax pills, 10 Adderall pills, or a bottle of promethazine cough syrup with ten doses.
If the quantity of the controlled substance is equal to four prescription doses or less, then the state may charge you with simple possession or with possession with intent to deliver. Which charges you will get will depend on whether there is additional evidence that you planned to sell the drugs or give them to someone else. If you have five or more doses of a prescription drug in your possession, the law treats it as possession with intent to deliver. These are the penalties you can face, depending on the quantity of drugs in your possession:
- Possession of four doses or fewer without intent to deliver is a disorderly persons offense, also known as a misdemeanor. It carries a maximum fine of $1,000, and the court has the option to sentence you to probation or to six months in county jail.
- Possession of four doses or fewer with intent to deliver is a fourth-degree crime. The maximum fine is $10,000, and the maximum penalty is 18 months in state prison.
- Illegal possession of between five and 99 doses of a prescription drug is a third-degree crime, punishable by a fine of up to $200,000 and a prison sentence of three to five years.
- Illegal possession of 100 doses or more of a prescription drug is a second-degree crime, punishable by a fine of up to $300,000 and five to ten years in state prison.
Defenses to Charges of Illegal Possession of Prescription Drugs
These are some defenses that might apply in your prescription drug possession case:
- You have a valid prescription for the drugs. You can prove this by presenting the prescription bottle in which the pharmacy dispensed the drugs to you. You might also provide documentation from the pharmacy where you got the pills or the doctor’s office from which the prescription originated.
- The drugs do not belong to you. A friend left his or her prescription bottle in your car. You have not consumed any of the drugs, and you intended to return the prescription bottle, pills and all, to its legal owner
- The police did not have the right to search your property, so they did not have the right to find the drugs.
A prescription drug crimes defense lawyer can help you decide which defense or defenses are the most applicable in your case.
Experienced Defense Lawyers for Your Prescription Drug Possession Charge
A drug crimes defense lawyer can help you if you are facing charges for illegal possession of a prescription drug such as hydrocodone, Xanax, Adderall, or prescription cough syrup. Contact us now for a free and confidential consultation.
