Prescription Drug Charges in Henrico County
Like other drug cases, prescription drug cases can have very serious consequences. If you are facing a prescription drug charge, a Henrico County drug lawyer will be able to guide you through the process and provide valuable advice regarding how to proceed. Call and schedule a consultation today to begin building a defense for your case.
Severity of Prescription Drug Cases
Prescription drug cases are very serious in Henrico and it can result in a significant jail sentence if convicted. These cases are a high priority for law enforcement, especially where issues of abuse lead to other matters like DUI cases or overdoses.
What If You Don’t Have Your Prescription On You?
You can be charged with a prescription drug charge if you have no proof of prescription. In fact, most prescription drug cases involve matters where an individual does not have proof of a proper prescription. Even if you do have a prescription or proof of the prescription, officers can still charge you if the amount in the bottle is different and/or if it’s not an actual prescription bottle or the script is outdated.
How Courts Treat Prescription Drug Cases
Prescription drug cases are treated very seriously in the courts especially if they involve a high amount in possession or sale or distribution matters. The courts kind of view this as a growing problem throughout the county as more and more we’re seeing cases of abuse and crime involving prescription drugs whether it’d be Oxycodone or other painkillers. The courts will consider alternative sentencing if we can show it is a substance abuse problem, not a distribution issue and if it’s a first offender case.
Evidence in Prescription Drug Cases
With prescription drug cases the prosecutors will attempt to show that the defendant possessed the drugs illegally, in other words without a valid prescription. Law enforcement will show that prescriptions drugs were either stolen, being used improperly or otherwise illegally. Prescription drug cases often involve issues of substance abuse and addiction, and courts may often take a view toward making treatment mandatory as part of any punishment.
Prescription drug cases differ in that in many cases it is strictly an abuse issue and often the substance abuse problem started with a valid prescription. In many cases these involve prescription fraud and theft of the drugs themselves.
Differences From Other Drug Cases
One of the issues that make prescription drugs different is just how more readily available these drugs are and how common the abuse issues are. The most common issues we see with prescription drugs are individuals that sell their valid prescriptions or individuals that fraudulently create prescriptions to obtain these drugs.
In addition, law enforcement must show that it’s not just mere possession but that you that there was no legal prescription to possess it. In many cases, one key for the defense is to establish if the possession was legal and if it was authorized by a doctor.
Defending Prescription Drug Cases
Some of the things that individual should know about prescription drug cases are just how significant the penalties can be. In many cases, this is seen as schedule 1 or 2 drugs, so they can come with very harsh sentences which can include license suspension and long-term jail sentences that can range from a year to up to ten years in jail, depending on a number of drugs that are found.
In addition to that, if the drugs are found with a large amount of cash, tools of distribution, they can charge these as possession with intent as well.
Importance of an Attorney
On a prescription drug case or possession case, it’s very important to have an experienced attorney by your side because there are significant penalties involved and the exposure to long term jail sentences. These cases can be challenged on several grounds from issues regarding the search and seizure of the evidence, to chain of custody issues. In addition, an attorney can attempt to seek alternative sentencing options that require drug counseling in order to avoid a long-term prison sentence.