California Drug Laws and Sharing of a Prescription Question... (crime, allergies)

[thebunny]

Originally Posted by lvoc

You have the list wrong. All prescription drugs are on one list or the other. I do not believe there is any pain medication that is not a schedule IV or higher class.

Tramadol and Nitrous Oxide...to list ones that are not what my friend has but are prescription only.

Feel free to look them up....

DEA Diversion Control - Controlled Substance Schedules

[thebunny]

Originally Posted by bountybligh

You can end this by simply saying what the drug in question is. And then we can see look it up. Easy peasy.

Ivoc and I are in general agreement here.

I know of no non-scheduled drug available by prescription only. US law doesn't work like that. It's either prescription and scheduled I through V and regulated by DEA or OTC and regulated by FDA (which she might of still gotten a prescription for if she asked for one, say for insurance purposes).



Well, it's always best to ask for help, then refuse to provide an answer that someone else thinks is critical to deciding what legal jeopardy the person is in. Am I rite?

Tramadol. It is not on the Federal Schedule. While not what she has, it is an excellent example of a drug that is NOT on the federal schedule but prescription only. It also seems, per this article, to be a pain med and as hers is also one, this is as close as I am willing to get. Nitrous Oxide is another...I used this article...

TheGanjaGuru: 10 Drugs You Won’t Believe Are Not Controlled Substances

[thebunny]

Originally Posted by imcurious

Why is this an issue? Maybe I didn't read the OP carefully enough - is her friend simply paranoid or is this a hypothetical ethics test question of some sort?

She is worried that she gave the coworker a prescription drug and the coworker told her doctor this...is afraid she could get into trouble. Was not really aware that she could get into trouble until I commented that I could not believe she did it. So, now she is worried she can get in trouble. I said it is one pill and not a controlled substance in CA or via Federal Law....

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by imcurious

Why is this an issue? Maybe I didn't read the OP carefully enough - is her friend simply paranoid or is this a hypothetical ethics test question of some sort?

lol! That's sort of what I was wondering. There's no problem here. The friend is worried some sort of guillotine will fall on her. I don't see how that could happen, or why. Seems impossible.

[thebunny]

That's what I am hoping. I yelled at her when she told me she shared her prescription and made her worried. I was just going off of my general belief that sharing meds is always bad and illegal. Once I freaked her out, I felt obligated to research it...and was able to find all sorts of consequences when it is a controlled substance...buit nothing if it is a prescription but not a controlled substance.

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by thebunny

Tramadol and Nitrous Oxide...to list ones that are not what my friend has but are prescription only.

Feel free to look them up....

DEA Diversion Control - Controlled Substance Schedules

There are exceptions to all rules. But the message should be the same.. Tramadol is a schedule IV drug in 12 states and Canada. Nitrous Oxide is a gas and regulated to different rules. Its pure form is however well regulated.

I will agree that tramadol is not a controlled substance in CA.

[thebunny]

And this is my point. It is not one that is federally regulated, nor is it regulated in CA. While this is not the drug in question, the meaning is the same, so are there possible legal repercussions with the drug being only prescription? This is what I am not able to figure out...the drug is prescription, but not CA or Federally regulated. So, what are the actual laws she may have broken?

[lvoc]

Originally Posted by thebunny

And this is my point. It is not one that is federally regulated, nor is it regulated in CA. While this is not the drug in question, the meaning is the same, so are there possible legal repercussions with the drug being only prescription?

Sometimes some places. If it is not scheduled I do not believe possession is illegal in CA. But I would be very careful that its documentation states it is not scheduled.

[Texamichiforniasota]

The doc will not report her. She won't get in trouble this time. It's still incredibly stupid to give people your prescription meds to treat their ailments. If you share a non-scheduled med, you still could have legal liability. If the person had a bad side effect, there is a remote possibility that your friend could be charged with practicing medicine without a license, which can carry jail time. Even then, I doubt those cases happen often for sharing one pill. But why risk hurting someone if you don't know what you are doing. Unless your friend got a thorough allergy history and has a pharmacology background to know if the medication is structurally related to any that the recipient might have allergies to, she could be putting them at risk. Again, this is unlikely to happen, but why risk it. Just tell the person to see a doctor.

[thebunny]

The drug bottle does not have the "you are not able to share this with others due to Federal Law" warning. (or whatever the wording actually is, for obvious reasons, the bottle is not with me) She also has Vicodin. That bottle (filled at the same pharmacy and at the same time as the other) has the Federal Law warning...do you think that would satisfy your statement about "documentation states it is not scheduled"?