Why All The Fuss About Gabapentin, If It Isn’t A Controlled Substance?

This sounds like something that happened in Florida, but in fact, it happened in Pennsylvania.  A man would call doctors who had previously treated his girlfriend, saying that she was having a seizure and needed a prescription for gabapentin immediately.  The doctor would call in a prescription to a pharmacy, and the man would pick it up.  This went on for two years, eventually encompassing six doctors, 11 pharmacies, and more than 1,000 pills.  It is easy to imagine someone putting forth that much effort to get mass quantities of oxycodone, Xanax, or even promethazine cough syrup, the active ingredient in lean, but why would people go so far out of their way to get a stash of the pills that Grandma takes for her diabetic neuropathy because she is too meek to ask the doctor to prescribe opioids?  To say that drug laws are always a step behind reality is an understatement, and the current legal status of gabapentin is just one of the many manifestations of this phenomenon.  As it stands, gabapentin is not a controlled substance, but there is no telling when it could become one.  If the cops are just jealous because you discovered the wonders of gabapentin before they did, contact a West Palm Beach drug offenses lawyer.

If Gabapentin Isn’t a Controlled Substance, Then What Is It?

Gabapentin is a prescription drug, but it is not on any of the schedules of controlled substances in the federal Controlled Substances Act.  Its original application was as a treatment for epilepsy, but doctors have increasingly begun to turn to it as a pain relief drug, especially when the pain is caused by diabetes or the shingles virus; they prefer it to opioids because of its lower potential for abuse.  Meanwhile, it is also becoming widespread in the drug supply because it is a less expensive and less dangerous high than opioids.  No one has ever overdosed on gabapentin alone, but a lot of people who use it recreationally do so in combination with other drugs, and a drug cocktail is only as safe as its most dangerous ingredient.

What happens if you get caught with gabapentin?  You might not get charges directly related to gabapentin, but if police find gabapentin pills in your possession and you don’t have a prescription for them, that is reason enough for them to look for other evidence of drug activity.  This is what happened to a couple who got pulled over in Eustis earlier this year.  They both had gabapentin, but the man also had methamphetamine, and the woman also had Xanax.  They ended up getting criminal charges for the other drugs, but not for the gabapentin.

Contact a West Palm Beach Criminal Defense Lawyer Today

Attorney William Wallshein has more than 38 years of experience, including five years as a prosecutor in Palm Beach County.  Contact William Wallshein P.A. in West Palm Beach, Florida to discuss your case.

Sources:

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