Forging or Altering a Prescription

According to California Health & Safety Code Section 11368, it is an offense to falsify or alter a valid prescription for a narcotic drug. You can face charges under this crime if you alter a valid prescription, present a forged prescription to obtain controlled drugs, or are found in possession of an altered prescription. This crime is a wobbler, meaning that the prosecutor can file felony or misdemeanor charges against you. A conviction for a felony or misdemeanor will result in life-changing consequences, including a prison or jail sentence and a damaging criminal record.

At Leah Legal Criminal Defense Attorney, we believe you can fight your charges to achieve a favorable outcome. Our competent attorneys in Los Angeles are experienced in all kinds of drug and white-collar crimes. They can use their best defense strategies to convince the court to dismiss or reduce your charges.

The Elements of Forging or Altering a Prescription

Dangerous drugs are strictly regulated by the law, according to the Drugs and Substances Act. These are drugs that have a high potential for addiction and abuse. Since most of them have significant medicinal value, their possession, sale, distribution, and use are regulated by the law. You need a valid prescription to obtain a regulated drug in California. A licensed medical professional issues a valid prescription. It must also contain the exact amount of drugs you need for a particular need.

A falsified or altered prescription could contain the wrong dosage or not have been issued by a licensed practitioner. This puts the recipient at risk of misusing or abusing the drugs. That is why the law against forging or altering a valid prescription is strict. It has serious penalties and consequences for anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.

This law applies to anyone who uses or issues a forged prescription. It can also be used against anyone who alters or forges a valid prescription. A falsified or altered prescription may contain a fictitious signature or the wrong prescription. The prosecutor will file felony or misdemeanor charges against you, depending on the details of your case and your criminal record. Here are some of the actions that could result in charges under California Health & Safety Code Section 11368:

• Stealing a physician’s already-signed prescription pad and writing yourself a prescription to obtain codeine
• Changing the dosage of your prescription to increase the amount of drugs you can obtain using it
• Using a fake prescription to buy fentanyl from someone who has legally obtained it

However, before you are convicted of forging or altering a valid prescription, the DA must prove all the elements of your case beyond a reasonable doubt. The elements they must prove are as follows:

• You knowingly did any of the following:
  • Forged or altered a prescription issued for a narcotic drug
  • Issued or obtained an altered pr forged prescription
  • Used a prescription with a fictitious or forged signature
• You did so with the intention of unlawfully obtaining or helping another person to obtain a regulated substance unlawfully

Let us discuss these elements in more detail to understand the law better:

Narcotic Drug

California Health & Safety Code Section 11368 prohibits the alteration or forgery of a prescription for a narcotic drug. According to Section 11019 of the California Health & Safety Code, narcotics are:

• Cocaine and all derivatives of the coca leaf
• Opiates
• Most of the other drugs that have a high potential for addiction and abuse

According to the above prescription, you could be charged for altering or forging a prescription for the following substances:

• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Demerol
• Opium
• Codeine
• Morphine
• Fentanyl
• Acetyl fentanyl

If you need any of these drugs for their medicinal benefits, you need a valid prescription to obtain them. A medical prescription is the order issued by a valid prescriber that authorizes you to obtain the drug from a valid furnisher, like a pharmacy. A valid prescriber is usually a medical professional who has authorization to give prescriptions for narcotics. They must bear the license to prove that they have this authorization. A furnisher must also have a valid license to prove that they are legally authorized to stock and furnish regulated drugs.

Once you have a valid prescription, you can obtain the drugs legally. However, if you change or falsify any part of the prescription, including the date, dosage, or signature, the prescription becomes invalid.

Altering or forging a valid prescription does not always happen on a written prescription. It can be done orally.  This happens if you use, or try to use, a changed or forged prescription by words or actions. The prescription can be issued legitimately, but you can change the dosage or the prescriber’s name.

Example: After his accident, James is issued a prescription for Fentanyl and antibiotics to take during his recovery. However, he adds Vicodin to the prescription and insists that his doctor recommended all those drugs for a full pain-free recovery.

In this case, James alters the prescription both in writing and orally.

Possession of a Fake or Altered Prescription

According to the state drug laws, being in possession can mean any of the following:

• Having actual possession of a fake or altered prescription on your person. Actual possession means that you have immediate and direct access to the prescription. In this case, the prescription can be in your hand, or anything you are wearing or carrying.
• Being in constructive possession of the invalid prescription, whereby you do not have the prescription in your person, but you have direct control of it. This can be the case if the invalid prescription is in your house, vehicle, locker, or with another person, like an agent.

Additionally, you can be in joint possession of a changed or forged prescription with another person. This means that the two of you have control over the prescription.

Note: Simply agreeing to obtain a narcotic drug using an invalid prescription does not mean that you are in control of the prescription. Another person must be in possession of the prescription, and that person is considered to be in control of it.

The Knowledge

Altering or forging a prescription to unlawfully obtain narcotics is a crime you can commit knowingly, not accidentally. The district attorney must prove that you knew or should have reasonably known that your actions were unlawful. For example, if someone else issues you with an invalid prescription and instructs you to obtain narcotics using it, you should reasonably know that the prescription is invalid to face prosecution under this law.

If the person is a medical practitioner, and they do not have the authorization to give prescriptions for narcotics, you may not know that the prescription is invalid. However, if the person is not a medical practitioner and they sign a prescription for you, you will be guilty of using an altered or falsified prescription.

The prosecutor must carefully consider the facts of your case to determine the appropriate charges to file against you in court. They will likely file charges under this law if this is true:

You Altered or Forged a Medical Prescription

This is true if you actually altered or forged a prescription, gave someone a falsified or altered prescription, or used a forged or altered medical prescription to buy narcotics.

You Possessed Narcotics Obtained Using an Altered or False Prescription

In this case, the DA must prove that you were in control of narcotics obtained using an invalid prescription. This means that you knew of the presence of the narcotics, you knew of their nature as narcotics, and that the narcotics in your possession were usable amounts. It also means that you know that the manner in which the narcotics were obtained was unlawful.

Usable amounts of narcotics mean that there was enough of the drug for a person to use as a regulated substance. However, this does not mean that the drug was enough to get the user high. It is also important that you know the drug’s name. However, you should have known that it was a regulated substance.

How Prosecutors Prove Knowledge

When it comes to drug crimes, what you know is very important to prosecutors as they file charges in court. This is because you could be in possession of a controlled substance without knowing about its presence or nature. This does not make you guilty of unlawful possession. However, if you know of the drug’s presence and its nature as a controlled substance, the prosecutor can prove your case beyond a reasonable doubt. While it is challenging for a prosecutor to know what you know, they can prove your case through the following:

• Proving what you admitted knowing to the police during your arrest or during the crime investigation
• The statements you made to other people or witnesses regarding your involvement in the crime
• By comparing your actions to other crimes you previously committed that are of a similar nature
• Any other circumstantial evidence the prosecutor may have against you.

Example: Julie is arrested and charged with being in possession of cocaine obtained through a falsified prescription. She had previously bragged to her roommates about obtaining a falsified prescription for her ailing mom to obtain cocaine from a local drug store. Upon her arrest, the police obtained statements from her roommates and used their testimonies to strengthen their case against Julie. Additionally, since Julie has a prior conviction for altering a prescription, the prosecutor uses it as prior evidence to prove that Julie knowingly committed the said crime.

Penalties for Altering or Forging a Prescription

Remember that California Health & Safety Code Section 11368 is a wobbler. This means that you can face felony or misdemeanor charges. The exact penalties you receive upon conviction will depend on how the prosecutor files charges and other details of your case.

If the court finds you guilty of a misdemeanor, you could receive the following penalties:

• Misdemeanor probation, or
• Six months to a year in jail
• A court fine of $1000

If the court convicts you of a felony, you will likely receive the following penalties:

• Felony probation, or
• A prison sentence of 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years
• $10,000 in court fines

Felony or Misdemeanor Probation

Probation means that you will serve your sentence outside of jail or prison. While this may seem favorable, as you can continue working, schooling, and caring for your family, the judge imposes strict probation conditions that you must abide by throughout the probation period. A misdemeanor probation lasts for one to three years, while a felony probation can last for up to five years. The judge sets probation conditions according to the nature of your crime.

While on misdemeanor probation, you must regularly meet with the judge to discuss your progress. While on felony probation, a probation officer will be in charge of your case. You must meet with them regularly to discuss your progress. If the judge feels that you are not performing well, or a probation officer reports that you have violated your probation, the judge can change your probation conditions or cancel it altogether. If the latter happens, the judge will sentence you to prison or jail for the recommended period.

In addition to submitting timely performance reports, the judge could order you to undergo drug treatment or counseling during probation. You will also be required to pay all court fines and other charges within a particular deadline. You could be given a particular number of hours for which you must take part in community service and be expected to abide by all laws during the probation period.

Criminal Record

A criminal conviction will be added to your record, which is publicly available. Anyone who runs a background check on you will find out about your conviction. If a potential employer finds out about your criminal background, you could lose any chance of finding suitable employment. Landlords, insurance companies, and loan lenders also run background checks and can make critical decisions based on their findings.

Loss of Gun Rights

A felony conviction for forging or changing a prescription will likely result in the loss of your gun rights. In California, convicted felons are among the groups of people not allowed to possess, use, or purchase a firearm. The ban on your gun rights is for life, meaning that you will never be able to purchase or own a firearm again, even for recreational purposes.

Fighting Charges for Forging or Altering a Prescription

An arrest for forging or altering a prescription will likely result in a jury trial, whereby you are allowed to defend yourself against the charges. Once the prosecutor presents your case and evidence, you can counter their case with your evidence or use mitigating factors to influence its outcome. You can also agree to a plea deal, whereby you plead guilty to a less severe offense instead of going through an uncertain trial. A skilled attorney can help you with this. If you go through a trial, your attorney can use any of the following defense strategies to obtain a favorable outcome:

The Prescription Was Legal

If you are caught in possession of narcotics and are charged with obtaining them unlawfully, you can argue and prove that you used a valid prescription to obtain them. Your competent attorney will find the valid prescription you used and ensure that an authorized prescriber issued the prescription to fight your charges. They can also prove that you obtained the drugs from an authorized vendor. If indeed it is established that the narcotics in your possession were legally acquired, the court will dismiss all your charges.

The court will also dismiss your charges if you believed that your prescription was legal. You can unknowingly use an invalid prescription if the prescriber is unlicensed, or someone else sends you an invalid prescription to obtain drugs on their behalf.

You Did Not Knowingly Commit the Crime

Remember that you are guilty under this law if you knowingly use a falsified or altered prescription, or you alter a valid prescription or forge it to obtain narcotic drugs unlawfully. If none of these actions happened, the court cannot find you guilty. If you were arrested while in possession of unlawfully obtained narcotics and the prosecutor has evidence that the drugs were obtained using a falsified or altered prescription, you can fight your charges using this defense.

However, this will only work if you can prove that you did not alter or forge the prescription, or that you did not know it had been altered or forged. This can happen if someone handed you the prescription to obtain the drugs, and you believed that the prescription was legitimate.

You can also use this defense strategy if you are arrested while in possession of narcotics that the police believe were unlawfully obtained using a fake prescription. It could be that someone else falsified a prescription and used it to obtain the drugs found in your possession. If the prosecutor cannot prove that you knew of the falsified prescription, or you convince the jury of your lack of knowledge, the court can reduce your charges. However, this can result in a drug-related charge, especially if you are in unlawful possession of a controlled drug.

You Did Not Use a Falsified or Altered Prescription

The police can also arrest and charge you with forging or altering a prescription if they find you in possession of a fake prescription. If this happened before, you could use the fake prescription; you can use this defense strategy for a more favorable outcome.

For example, you can argue that even though you forged or altered a valid prescription, you did not plan to use it for drugs. It could be that you changed your mind after altering the prescription. If you successfully convince the court of this, and the prosecutor has no way to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intended to use the prescription, the judge can reduce your charges.

You Were Not In Possession of Drugs or a Falsified Prescription

Remember that charges for forging or altering a prescription mainly happen when you are found in possession of illegally obtained drugs or a falsified prescription. Having the prescription or drugs on your person does not automatically mean that you were in possession. Possession happens when you know of the drugs’ or prescriptions’ existence, and nature, or when you have control over them. If a drug is found in your vehicle, home, or person, the prosecutor has to ascertain that you know of its existence and nature to file charges. If you did not know about the drugs or prescription, the court will drop your charges.

You Are a Victim of Unlawful Search and Seizure

Although the police have the right to search and seize evidence, they need a valid search warrant. The search must be conducted in accordance with the warrant, without exceeding its limits. If the officers searched your person, vehicle, home, or property without a valid warrant, you can fight any evidence gathered against you by citing that the search was unlawful. You can do the same if the officers searched beyond the provisions of the arrest warrant.

Your skilled attorney will ensure that any evidence gathered through an unlawful search and seizure is not admitted in court. This will likely leave the prosecutor with little or no evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Find a Competent Criminal Defense Attorney

If you face criminal charges for altering or forging a prescription in Los Angeles, you could be worried about the possible penalties and conviction. However, knowing that you can influence the outcome of your case with the help of a competent criminal attorney should come as a relief. With the help of a skilled attorney, you can prove that you did not forge or falsify a prescription or that you did not knowingly use a forged or falsified prescription.

In addition to helping you fight your charges, we help you navigate complex legal processes at Leah Legal Criminal Defense Attorney. We can also defend your rights and file an appeal if the trial outcome is unfavorable. Call us at 213-444-7818 to discuss your case and our services in more detail.