You may think that you’re being helpful for holding on to someone’s prescription for them. Even if you have the best of intentions, you can find yourself in trouble with the law for possessing someone else’s prescription medication.
Examples of common prescription drugs
Codeine, methadone, morphine, and oxycodone are common prescription medications that North Carolina considers schedule II-controlled substances. Schedule II-controlled substances are primarily forms of opiates, something that is receiving a lot of local and national attention. Despite how often physicians prescribe these medications, it’s still illegal to possess them unless you have a prescription or certification to carry them.
If law enforcement discovers one of these drugs in your possession without a prescription, they will charge you with a class G felony. These charges carry sentences of just under four years imprisonment and you having a felony on your permanent record forever.
An exception to the law
However, there is an exception for an “ultimate user.” An ultimate user is someone that can legally possess prescription drugs for their own use, someone in their household or for their pet. That means that you could legally carry, say, a relative’s prescription medicine if they live with you.
If someone asks you to hold on to their prescription medication, you should think twice before saying yes. There are very few instances in which you may legally possess someone else’s prescription. Don’t unnecessarily put yourself in a position that exposes you to severe legal penalties. You should only agree to carry someone’s prescription’s medication when you’re comfortable doing so and that medication belongs to someone in your household.