California Xanax possession without rx.

[CdwJava]

Prescription drug abuse is the drug scourge of the decade. With the veneer of acceptability, the widespread availability, and the ease and speed at which these substances are prescribed makes them highly abused and readily available to most anyone. There are networks of people who will phone and text their friends when certain E.R. doctors known as easy marks are on duty. Doctors with a reputation for being easy marks will receive many clients with unprovable pain or conditions. And the prescribing of large dosages (90 to 600 pills) make it easy for the patients to get ripped off, or, just as easily to sell their prescriptions for fun and profit without ever raising an eyebrow. Ninety tablets of 5 mg Percocet could be worth $1,800 to $4,500 on the street, and a free and open prescription is and has been a recipe for abuse by encouraging a black market.

These drugs have become a nightmare as a result of their availability and the ease of access ... and the ease that they are prescribed.

I'd wager that everyone of us knows someone who is addicted to pain pills. Chances are everyone around them knows they are, but the person so addicted deludes themselves into believing that medication (and, often others as well) are necessary for them to live a full and functional life. This is not to say that everyone who takes these meds is an abuser, but a great many are ... and a great many may very well exaggerate their pains in order to continue their addiction. After all, when they are not taking their meds they do feel different/worse - that's why it is an addiction.

 

[johnnova]

The reason I had to transfer the contents was because the bottle could not longer hold them without falling out. When the doctor gave me 90 2mgs, I would only take them when I had a severe panic attack. I am not trying to trick anyone or get off easy. I am accountable for my actions and it is my responsability to keep my medication with me. I always carry them with me because just knowing they are there helps calm me down. Sometimes, I would go a few weeks or a month or two before I would have a full blown panic attack (if you have ever had one you would want this medication on hand, before I was told I suffered from panic attacks I thought I was having a heart attack and hand to go to the ER on more than one occasion before they said I have panic attacks). Anyway, I would go weeks without an attack and then sometimes have them back to back there is no set pattern of panic attacks. 20 months is not a long time for 90 2mg pills. Most times I would take .25 to .50 to 1mg. Very rarely would I take 2mg as it is a potent medication. The doctor told me to make them last as I was reffered by another doctor I was visitng for panic disorder. I only was only given xanax as a last resort. Zoloft,Paxil and Effexor actually made the anxiety/depression worse and I told my doctor that I did not want to take Xanax but he insisted and I am glad I did because when taken as needed they are very effective.

No one answered the question. For California without a prior criminal history and with a copy of the doctors record what am I looking at?

 

[CdwJava]

What specific statute have you been charged with?

 

[ecmst12]

The fishiest-sounding bit to me is that you only need it occasionally, yet he still prescribed 90 at a time. Usually a doctor won't want to prescribe you more than you would need for 3-6 months....but you've had these almost 2 years? And prescription drugs are labeled to expire a year after the fill date.

As far as what you might be looking at, that's a question for your attorney.

 

[ERAUPIKE]

I carry mine in my purse always....because on the rare occasion that I need one, I REALLY need one. I don't have time (nor would I even be able) to drive home to get one. Xanax is the type of medication that is designed specifically to provide immediate relief if an anxiety attack starts to occur. I can feel the attack start, take a Xanax and the attack never takes full hold. However, based on this thread I may change how I handle things. I have a pill case that I use where I keep some Xanax, some ibuprophen (I think I spelled that wrong) some beano, and some aleve. I guess I better stop doing that.

Xanax is not an as needed medication.

Alprazolam comes as a tablet, an extended-release tablet, an orally disintegrating tablet (tablet that dissolves quickly in the mouth), and a concentrated solution (liquid) to take by mouth. The tablet, orally disintegrating tablet, and concentrated solution usually are taken two to four times a day. The extended-release tablet is taken once daily, usually in the morning. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take alprazolam exactly as directed.

Treatment may be initiated with a dose of 0.5 mg three times daily. Depending on the response, the dose may be increased at intervals of 3 to 4 days in increments of no more than 1 mg per day. Slower titration to the dose levels greater than 4 mg/day may be advisable to allow full expression of the pharmacodynamic effect of XANAX. To lessen the possibility of interdose symptoms, the times of administration should be distributed as evenly as possible throughout the waking hours, that is, on a three or four times per day schedule.

Generally, therapy should be initiated at a low dose to minimize the risk of adverse responses in patients especially sensitive to the drug. Dose should be advanced until an acceptable therapeutic response (ie, a substantial reduction in or total elimination of panic attacks) is achieved, intolerance occurs, or the maximum recommended dose is attained.

 

[LdiJ]

Xanax is not an as needed medication.

Sorry, but it is. No one takes Xanax (accept in the very beginning) on a daily basis. People take it only when they need it. Paxil and other similar drugs are daily medications for anxiety.

 

[ERAUPIKE]

Sorry, but it is. No one takes Xanax (accept in the very beginning) on a daily basis. People take it only when they need it. Paxil and other similar drugs are daily medications for anxiety.

Please, feel free to provide an actual medical opinion that states that. I find it hard to believe that any medical professional would prescribe an addictive substance, like Xanax, with the instructions, "Just take it whenever you feel like it."

 

[LdiJ]

Please, feel free to provide an actual medical opinion that states that. I find it hard to believe that any medical professional would prescribe an addictive substance, like Xanax, with the instructions, "Just take it whenever you feel like it."

Actually, because it is very addictive the doctor restricts its use to "as needed". (which is very different than "whenever you feel like it") My doctor was very clear about that when he first prescribed it for me. He only wanted me to take it on a daily basis for the first week. I am ONLY to take it if I feel a panic attack starting. It does have a maximum daily dosage amount as well though. If you take ibuprophen it tells you a maximum dosage to take in a day too...and that obviously doesn't mean that you are supposed to take that every day of your life either.

 

[ecmst12]

Nothing posted would restrict the medication from being prescribed PRN and I have heard of it very commonly as well.

The instructions would certainly not be "take whenever you feel like it" either. It would be more like "take (dose) (x) times per day or every (x) hours, as needed for panic attacks, do not exceed (dose) per day."

 

[ERAUPIKE]

Actually, because it is very addictive the doctor restricts its use to "as needed". (which is very different than "whenever you feel like it") My doctor was very clear about that when he first prescribed it for me. He only wanted me to take it on a daily basis for the first week. I am ONLY to take it if I feel a panic attack starting. It does have a maximum daily dosage amount as well though. If you take ibuprophen it tells you a maximum dosage to take in a day too...and that obviously doesn't mean that you are supposed to take that every day of your life either.

So you are comparing ibuprophen to a Schedule IV narcotic, great point.

Did your doctor also give you a 90 pill supply to take whenever you want?

 

[ecmst12]

And it's STILL not a narcotic!

It's already been agreed that the number of pills prescribed for a patient who only takes it occasionally sounds very suspicious. Not impossible, but fishy.

 

[CJane]

What is unusual is a script written "as needed". Maybe every 4-6 hours as needed. But just "as needed" is what I was saying is unusual. That would be difficult to determine when a refill (if needed) is due. That would also cause insurance difficulty. Also, as I am sure you know percocet contains oxycodone, an "as needed" only prescription would be an addicts dream and an insurance nightmare.

From MY Xanax scrip bottle that's in my purse right now...

Take 1 By Mouth As Needed for Anxiety

2 Refills before 12/03/2012

Discard after 6/6/2013

It's the "discard after" date that will kick OP's butt in court. Because once that date passes? The scrip is no longer valid, and the meds are "without prescription". At least, according to "my" attorney.

It won't matter that the doctor wrote him a note, indicating that the scrip was legit. They don't last forever.

 

[Banned_Princess]

From MY Xanax scrip bottle that's in my purse right now...



It's the "discard after" date that will kick OP's butt in court. Because once that date passes? The scrip is no longer valid, and the meds are "without prescription". At least, according to "my" attorney.

It won't matter that the doctor wrote him a note, indicating that the scrip was legit. They don't last forever.

You get refills on that? my MD makes me come in when I need a refill. I see him every other month. Mine also has an expiration date of a year. so 20 month old script is not going to cut it for OP.

 

[ecmst12]

Not to mention that pretty much ALL prescriptions for painkillers are going to say "as needed". As needed means you take it LESS than all the time. Which for any habit-forming medication, is a good thing.

 

[las365]

The "discard after" date doesn't mean that the prescription the medication was filled under is retroactively invalid. It's more like the expiration or "best if used by" date on food packages.

OP still hasn't said how it came about that he was cited for having prescription meds without a prescription. Police officers don't generally rifle through one's personal belongings to find such things unless there is some precipitating factor.