Can I Get In Trouble For Possession Of Gabapentin?

It was a normal Florida afternoon.  David was driving his Ford truck, with his friend Nova in the passenger seat; the two had been helping Nova’s grandmother move to a new apartment.  The police pulled them over because the truck had expired tags and, this being a Florida story, one thing led to another, and soon a police K9 named Bruce was sniffing around the car.  Bruce fixated on a small black cloth bag near the driver’s seat, where David had been sitting, and a plastic case that had once contained breath mints near the passenger seat, where Nova had been sitting.  Police questioned the two friends separately, and they both said that the items Bruce identified as containing drugs belonged to Nova’s grandmother, and that they did not know what prescriptions she had.  Forensic testing revealed that David’s bag contained methamphetamine and gabapentin, and Nova’s box of mints contained Xanax and gabapentin.  David received criminal charges for illegal possession of methamphetamine, and Nova got criminal charges for illegal possession of Xanax.  The gabapentin did not lead to criminal charges for anyone.  Here, our Miami drug crimes defense lawyer explains the legal loopholes surrounding gabapentin and its role in drug crime cases.

Medical Uses of Gabapentin

Gabapentin first became available as a prescription drug in 1993, although its first mention in the medical literature goes all the way back to 1975.  Its original purpose was to prevent seizures, and it is still prescribed for that purpose today.  It is increasingly common for doctors to prescribe gabapentin for pain relief, specifically if the root cause of the pain is diabetes or the lingering effects of a shingles infection, caused by the virus Varicella zoster.  Gabapentin is one of the ten most commonly prescribed drugs in the United States.

Gabapentin Is Not the New Tranq, but It Isn’t the New Narcan, Either

The effectiveness of gabapentin in treating pain is the main reason that it is so widely used in a clinical setting.  The fallout from the opioid epidemic has made doctors wary of prescribing opioids, which are virtually unmatched in their effectiveness for treating pain, but the flipside is that opioid addiction is one of the most difficult medical conditions to treat.  In the best of cases, gabapentin can help patients manage their pain and prevent them from needing opioids, even though gabapentin can also cause physical dependence.  In a perfect world, people could just take gabapentin instead of opioids, and there would be no new cases of opioid addiction arising from people taking habit-forming opioids because their doctors saw no other way to help them manage their pain.

Of course, it is not that simple.  Not everyone who takes gabapentin for pain relief finds it effective enough for them to consistently resume their normal activities.  Just as often, gabapentin is just one stop on the frustrating obstacle course in pursuit of relief from chronic pain.  To make matters worse, some patients find that gabapentin taken in combination with opioids makes the opioids more effective, but gabapentin alone does not relieve their pain.

Furthermore, gabapentin is gaining popularity as a recreational drug, often in combination with other drugs.  Thus far, there have been no reports of anyone dying from an overdose of gabapentin, but drug mixtures of unknown composition are always dangerous.  A tiny grain of fentanyl can kill, even if it is part of a drug mixture that is mostly gabapentin.

Legal Status on Gabapentin

Gabapentin is available by prescription only; you cannot buy it over the counter, like you can with Tylenol or Advil.  Meanwhile, it is not listed on any of the schedules of controlled substances at the federal level, which means that federal law does not acknowledge that gabapentin carries substantial potential as a drug of abuse.  Some states have enacted legislation that categorizes gabapentin as a Schedule V controlled substance, which puts it in the same category as prescription cough syrups that contain codeine; Schedule V is the category of controlled substances considered the least dangerous.  Florida does not have a law like this on the books, which means that gabapentin is not a controlled substance in Florida.  Therefore, if police arrest you simply for possessing gabapentin, you may be able to fight your charges simply by arguing that you were not in possession of any controlled substances.

Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys

A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for possession of drugs of questionable legal status.  Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.

Sources:

cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/traffic-stop-florida-eustis-drug-bust-driver-passengers-arrested-charged-felony-david-paul-rogers-nova-ciara-badgley-possession-controlled-substance-methamphetamine-xanax-guns-firearms-gabapentin-grandmother-medicine-bottle-prescription-marijuana-residue

aol.com/gabapentin-heres-why-controversial-090203095.html