Greenwood Village Prescription Drug Lawyer

Prescription drug offenses in Colorado are dealt with in the same manner as most other drug offenses. There are two types of scheduled drugs. Prescriptions can be found on all schedules, and depending on the extent of the quantity, they carry the same penalties as illegal drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine, or heroin. If a person does not have a valid prescription, Colorado does not distinguish between a recreational drug and the use of prescription drugs without a prescription.

If you are charged with a drug offense, you should contact a Greenwood Village prescription drug lawyer as soon as possible. You do not need to handle your case alone. The Colorado Lawyer Team can help you build a defense against the charges and help you avoid the harsh penalties of a conviction.

Can a Person Be Arrested For Having Prescription Drugs If They Do Not Have The Prescription?

In most situations, if a person has a valid prescription, the officers are just going to try to confirm that. Police may call a person’s pharmacy, or they may want to know where the bottle is. Most people do not typically carry the prescription with them. Generally, not carrying the prescription with them is not an arrestable offense.

What If There Is Proof Of Prescription?

Although a person may be charged initially, if they later produce a prescription that covers the date of the offense, it is likely that the district attorney or the city attorney will simply dismiss the case. It is similar to providing proof of insurance after the fact.

Evidence In Prescription Drug Cases

One of the things to be aware of is that prescription medication is designed to be medically impactful. It is prescribed to an individual so that it has a certain effect on them. If a prescription medication indicates on the package that the person taking it should not be operating a motor vehicle, and the person is still taking the drug at a therapeutic level, they should not be operating motor vehicles.

There are often many crossover DUI and prescription drug cases. For example, there are many cases involving Ambien. In these situations, people have taken Ambien, and the next day they do not realize that they are driving while still under the influence of the drug.

Recreational drugs also have side effects, and people often realize they should not be driving. But with prescription drugs, it may be harder to discern, and blood tests will show the therapeutic levels in their blood. If someone is taking a drug as prescribed, it may be impairing them, so that is something to remember as well.

 

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Issues With Prescription Drug Cases

Typically, prescription drug cases are harder to identify unless the prescription pills are available for inspection and testing. For example, if someone is on PCP or a more common street drug, officers are trained to recognize the effects of those street drugs, but they are not as well-trained to recognize prescription drugs. Prescription drugs also generally require expert opinion, especially if there are no extra prescription pills or tablets available for testing. Officers have to draw a person’s blood, and then that blood is sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and they run it through a variety of tests, where they may get a presumptive positive for specific types of drugs. Then they run it again through a second confirmation test.

An experienced attorney will regularly consult with the local defense experts and can even have that second sample retested. If there are problems with the blood test, then chain of custody is an issue. Multiple labs in Colorado have been decertified, and labs have shut down. That is where it can become very beneficial to have an attorney who is well versed in drug cases.

Retain An Experienced Greenwood Village Prescription Drug Attorney

There are many ways a lawyer could help in a prescription drug case. Not only will experienced drug attorneys know where to retest the second sample, but they are also familiar with experts in the state. It is important to know what an expert can testify to because each drug has a different effect on individuals. A Greenwood Village prescription drug lawyer will know how to beat these types of cases. Let the Colorado Lawyer Team help. Call today to schedule a consultation.

 

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