You never forget anything, so your bag has become the family “catch-all” for anything your loved ones don’t want to forget. That includes your mom’s travel pill organizer with a handful of her pain pills, your sister’s allergy pills and a muscle relaxant for when you go shopping together and a bag with your son’s inhaler and a few doses of Ritalin.
You don’t see the problem until your bag spills open in front of a police officer during a traffic stop and you find yourself facing questions about the possession of prescription drugs that aren’t yours. How much trouble are you in? Potentially a lot.
What does Georgia law say?
Under Georgia Code § 16-13-75, prescription drugs involving controlled substances generally must be kept in their original container, with their proper label. There are limited exceptions, but the law doesn’t provide any kind of exemption for family members who are just carrying someone else’s medication for them.
Your intention may have been benign, but carrying around controlled substances like pain medication, muscle relaxers and stimulants could lead to serious drug possession charges.
The situation is different if you pick up someone else’s prescriptions from the pharmacy and transport them in their original, properly labeled containers. Similarly, if you’re carrying prescription medication for someone else, the safest approach is to leave it in its original, properly labeled bottle. Don’t combine different prescriptions into one bottle for convenience or transfer pills into a daily or weekly organizer.
If you’ve made a mistake and have been charged with drug possession, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you determine what defenses are possible.