Not all drugs are legal. Yet even those that are legal can become illegal in specific circumstances and lead to criminal charges.
The common factor in all drugs is that they change our bodies. Scientists consider some drugs bring beneficial changes, so they legalize them and call them medicines. Other drugs they ban because they believe the changes they create are harmful.
Yet some drugs sit in a gray area. Opioid painkillers are one example. The government allows doctors to prescribe them to patients suffering severe pain because the opioids will enable them to go about life without feeling that pain.
Yet people can get so addicted to the pleasurable feeling opioids bring that they will do anything to get more of them, including theft or prostitution. Fatal overdoses are also a massive problem.
Hence opioids are only legal for the person they are prescribed to
For everyone else, they are illegal. So the high demand for them from addicts creates a huge black market for these prescription painkillers. You could easily get caught up in this if you are a legitimate user or someone authorized to prescribe or issue opioids.
- If you have a legal prescription: Someone could fake your identity to go around collecting prescriptions in your name. Or they could rob you then sell the drugs on. If the police then arrest someone who has the drugs bearing your name, they may assume you were in on it.
- If you are a doctor: A criminal gang could fake your prescription book and signature to issue opioids.
- If you are a pharmacist: Criminals could bring their false prescriptions to you. When the police trace where the supply of drugs on the street is coming from, they may assume you were willingly involved.
If accused of prescription drug crimes, do not assume that the charges are minor because these drugs are legal. A conviction would carry heavy consequences, so it is crucial to investigate your legal options.