Prescription drug offenses, whether it be prescription drug fraud or illegal possession of a prescription drug, are serious offenses and are prosecuted very aggressively in both Leesburg and Loudoun County. For this reason, it is always advisable to work with an experienced local Leesburg prescription drug lawyer when facing these charges. An experienced drug attorney in Leesburg can look at the facts and circumstances surrounding the charge and help mitigate the damage of the offense as much as possible. To learn more or discuss your case, call and schedule a consultation today.
Specifically in Leesburg and Loudoun County, prescription drug cases are charged under a variety of different code sections. Commonly these are violations of 18.2 – 250, illegal possession of controlled substance. However, people who have a legal, valid prescription but have somehow changed or altered their prescription or done what is called doctor shopping are sometimes charged with prescription drug fraud.
Because prescription drug abuse is at its all-time high, especially in the Commonwealth of Virginia and especially in Leesburg, prescription drug cases are taken very seriously. Contrary to popular opinion if someone is going to have loose prescription drugs in their pocket, they may find themselves arrested and charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs and charged with violating Virginia Code Section 18.2 – 250, which is possession of controlled substance. It is certainly an affirmative defense if they have a prescription for that substance. However, they bear the burden of showing the prescription.
In a variety of circumstances an individual may have a valid prescription and still be charged with this offense, including not having the prescription on them, being under the influence at the time of their encounter with the drug, or possession of a prescription drug but not for prescribed purpose. The most common example of this is snorting painkillers or having evidence of abusing prescription drugs for unintended purposes.
Therefore even if the individual can show that they do have a valid prescription they may still be charged and need to help of a Leesburg prescription drug lawyer. Typically, if someone shows a valid prescription they will not be charged. However, it is very common that officers end up charging the person and then make them come to court to prove they were right.
Some different issues with prescription drugs as opposed to other drugs are that prescription drugs fall under a variety of different schedules depending on their purity and the type of mixture involved. Therefore someone charged with a mixture of Tylenol and other prescription medications could find themselves charged under a variety of different offenses. It could be a Schedule 3, 4 or 6 controlled substance. Which schedule the drugs fall under is very important in the defense of the case as well as the mitigation circumstances, which makes it important a prescription drug lawyer is contacted as soon as possible.
People should know that simply having an expired prescription or similar prescription is not necessarily a defense for being charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs in Leesburg. They must also know that prescription drug fraud is particularly serious in Leesburg and that there are also a variety of options by which to charge violations of this code section. With these things in mind, it is imperative an experienced prescription drug attorney in Leesburg is contacted as soon as possible so they can begin look collecting the facts and evidence of the case and building a defense.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
