Can you share prescription drugs?

Getting a prescription for a drug can be time-consuming and costly. Therefore, if you have a friend you think could benefit from some of the same pills that you have, you might try to help them by sharing some of yours.

As kind as this is, it could land both of you in legal trouble if the police find out.

What sort of trouble could you get in?

Federal and state laws make it illegal to share prescription drugs. Yet, it could get even worse if the police do not believe you were sharing and instead suspect you were selling.

You are probably aware of the scale of the opioid crises across the country. One thing that helps fuel this is people selling the opioids they get on prescription. Another is people stealing prescriptions from other people or falsely issuing and collecting them in the name of others. So it is understandable that the police might be on alert if they discover a prescription in your name for any of these drugs in the hands of someone else.

What if my friend has forgotten their drugs and desperately needs them?

Let’s say you and a friend both have the same prescription. One day they forget theirs and ask you for some of yours. In the eyes of the law saying yes is still illegal and you could face charges. That being said, if it is something like an asthma inhaler that could save their life you probably want to take that risk.

Many people do share prescription drugs and the police never find out. Yet it’s crucial to realize that doing so is illegal and you can never rule out facing charges for it.