The Fight Against the National Opioid Epidemic and “Doctor Shopping”

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More than one in 20 people in 印第安纳州 admit having engaged in non-medical use of opioid pain relievers. And with similar percentages of 肯塔基州’s citizens in the same sad predicament, 联邦, state and local law enforcement is aggressively attacking this social and legal tragedy nationwide.

Eighteen states have adopted comprehensive mandates in the past four years requiring doctors who prescribe opioids – oxycodone, 氢可酮, 阿普唑仑 and others – and other controlled substances to check databases to learn whether their patients are addicts who get these drugs elsewhere. Prescribers – mainly physicians – can see which drugs their patients are obtaining and whether they are going to other prescribers to obtain opioids.

And even though opioid abusers often cross state lines and travel great distances to illegally obtain these drugs, prescription drug monitoring programs, or PDMPs, are getting better at alerting doctors about whether or not the prescription they’re writing is for legitimate reasons and whether they might have either an addict, or someone who will funnel those pills into an addict’s pocket, 在他们手上.

在肯塔基州, 例如, which has one of the toughest approaches, prescribers must check a PDMP before issuing a first prescription for opioids, benzodiazepines and other controlled substances. They then must recheck it at least every 90 days thereafter.

印第安纳州法律[§ 16-42-19] defines “doctor shopping” as: When a patient seeks to obtain controlled substances from multiple health care providers, 同时经常, 通过:

1. Withholding material facts regarding their past and/or present controlled substance treatment
2. Engaging in deceptive practices meant to stymie attempts by their health care providers to better coordinate the provision of care.

And in 肯塔基州, a ‘pill mill’ law was passed in 2015 which uses basically the same criteria.

印第安纳州 and 肯塔基州 Penalties

In both states, most opioids are classified as 安排二世 illegal substances which have a high risk of abuse but also legitimate medical uses.

The amount (by weight) of the opioids an 印第安纳州 suspect possesses when arrested determines which felony they are charged with. If less than three grams, it’s a 类D (lower) felony. More than three grams makes it a C类.  Penalties for possession (only) of opioids in 印第安纳州 are:

• 类D – six months to three years in prison plus up to a $10,000 fine
• C类 – two to eight years in prison plus no more than a $10,000 fine.

 

印第安纳州 prison sentences for distribution of opioids can easily exceed 10 years for a first offense, For second and subsequent offenses, 20-year stretches are not unusual.

在肯塔基州, simple possession is also a 类D felony. 如果被判有罪, penalties include a minimum fine of $1,000元及最高10元,000, or double the financial gain from the crime (whichever is greater). A prison sentence of one to three years is also assessed. Pharmacists in both states who are involved in illegal opioid distribution chains can also draw stiff prison sentences and fines if convicted.

And if the suspect crosses state lines in procuring or selling oxycodone, 氢可酮, 阿普唑仑, and pharmacists conspire with these felons to distribute these substances, 联邦 drug charges (and sentences) can be quite draconian: 15 or more years commonly handed out, with  fines far exceeding those in either 肯塔基州 or 印第安纳州.

If you’ve been caught in this illegal opioid possession legal web, your 新奥尔巴尼 Legal Team is here 24/7 at (812) 725-8224, or 在线bet9九州体育登录.