I've been taking Adderall for many years. It's helped me get through college and law school. I have no qualms about its use in adults. Recently, I came across a case criminal case in which the defendant, a 17-year-old, was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance. The controlled substance? You guessed it... Adderall.
The interesting (if not depressing) aspect about the case was that the defendant, a high school senior, actually had an Adderall prescription and had possession only of those pills which his doctor had prescribed to him (albeit a lot, he was caught with more than 700 15mg tablets). The drugs were discovered in his possession when a police officer pulled him over for a routine traffic stop and the defendant consented to a search of his vehicle. I repeat, he was convicted of a felony, which is the most serious of crimes (murder and rape are also felonies, for example). How could this happen?
There are a number of things which led to his conviction. Don't fall into a similar trap! Keep these things in mind:
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS:
If I have a prescription, I cannot get into any legal trouble for possessing the drug.
This is wrong on a number of levels. First, federal law prohibits unlicensed sale of any controlled substance. This obviously means that if you have a prescription and you're caught selling it to anyone (even someone else with the same prescription), you've committed a crime. Second, and probably most important, if you're carrying a prescription controlled substance, like Adderall, you must carry it in the bottle that the pharmacy provided you with. The bottle must have a label on it displaying your name, the drug, the dosage, the prescribers' name and some other minute details that aren't worth discussing. So, to be safe, carrying your drugs in the bottle you were originally provided with without altering the information on the label.
Even if I'm caught with prescription drugs, I can't get in that much trouble - at least not as much as I would for possessing a non-prescription controlled substance like cocaine or heroin.
As we have just seen in the case of the 17-year-old victim of attention deficit disorder, this is just not true. Remeber, the defendant in that case was convicted of a FELONY - the worst crime you can commit. Most felonies carry mandatory prison sentences. Furthermore, once you've been convicted of a felony, you forever give up certain rights that you had before you were a felon (for example, you can never vote again or possession a firearm) and forfeit certain privileges that non-felons enjoy (felons cannot become professionals - doctors, lawyers, or even barbers - and can never serve as police officers or other law enforcement occupations). The idea that only what most people consider illicit drugs (cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, etc.) can land you a felony conviction. Not true. Depending on the quantity you have on you, possession of even prescription controlled substances can lead to a felony conviction.
CONSENTING TO A POLICE SEARCH:
In most cases, if the police ask you for your permission to search your property, that means they legally do it without your consent. If you're absolutely sure you have nothing to hide, it's up to you whether you grant the officer's request. However, if you have anything that's illegal in your possession, or if you're unclear about it's legality, DO NOT GIVE YOUR CONSENT TO SEARCH. In the case of the 17-year-old Adderall user, it is unlikely that the police would have found the massive quantity of Adderall on the kid if he hadn't permitted them to search his vehicle and, if they found it without his consent, then it's even more unlikely that the evidence could have been used to prosecute him for a crime. The moral of this story is: when the cops are asking you to allow them to do something,the safest bet is to refuse their request. Maybe you have the butt-end of a joint (a roach) under your seat that's been there for 3 years and you had no idea it was there. If the police find it, you're liable for it.
Miscellaneous Considerations:
Although these considerations were not part of the case we've been discussing so far, you should still keep them in mind when using prescription drugs.
Driving While Impaired: Did you think DWI only pertained to operating a motor vehicle while you were drunk on alcohol? If you did, you're wrong. Driving While Impaired (DWI) pertains to driving a motor vehicle while your senses are impaired by some external force that you knew or should have known would impair your ability to drive safely. Operating a car while you're under the influence of prescription drugs (most commonly painkillers and anti-anxiety medications) and even over-the-counter drugs (most commonly Benadryl) can lend you in jail just as quickly as 3 Long Island iced teas.
Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance:This sounds like a very Orwellian crime, but it exists. The police can arrest you and the government can prosecute you for illegally being under the influence of a controlled substance. This means that if the police suspect you of being under the influence without justification, they can arrest you, draw blood from you, test your blood for the presence of controlled substances, and ultimately convict you of a crime. I haven't come across any cases where the controlled substance in question was a prescription drug, but that doesn't mean such cases don't exist or such prosecutions will not happen in the future.
That is all for now. Keep these things in mind and stay out of jail!
09-12-2008, 01:41
Similar Threads
Threaded Mode