How Bad Is It to Possess Gabapentin?

Your generation has never had it easy, but when old people tell you to be grateful for your youth, perhaps you should take heed.  You might have aches and pains as the result of constant work and chronic sleep deprivation, but at least you are not feeling the effects of a lifetime of wear and tear.  You might be prediabetic from years of living on a budget that only has room for instant ramen and a work schedule where a Snickers has to substitute for a nap, but there is still time to reverse course.  Your grandparents have been diabetic for so long that their nerves now send out pain signals for no reason.  Since there was no chicken pox vaccine in their time, they are also vulnerable to shingles, a painful infection caused by the same virus.  Therefore, they probably have a prescription for gabapentin.  So far, the law thinks that gabapentin is not enjoyable enough to be worth restricting as a controlled substance, but given the drug’s recent increase in popularity for recreational use, that may change.  If your drug crime allegations saga includes gabapentin, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.

Gabapentin Is Not a Controlled Substance, At Least Not Yet

The federal Controlled Substances Act includes five schedules of drugs; they are, for all practical purposes, risk categories, since every schedule is heterogeneous in terms of the chemical composition of the drugs it includes.  Any given drug schedule might include some stimulants, some opioids, and some hallucinogens, among others.  Only Schedule I drugs are always illegal; the drugs on the other schedules can be administered by doctors or distributed to patients by prescription.

Controlled substances account for only a small fraction of prescription drugs; there are plenty of other pharmaceutical drugs that are not available over the counter and yet have no legally recognized abuse potential.  No one gets high on penicillin or metformin, but you can only get them by prescription.  That is the current legal status of gabapentin.  It is a prescription drug indicated for the treatment of epilepsy and certain types of pain.

Even though gabapentin is not a controlled substance at the federal level, some states have scheduled it.  As of 2024, Florida is not one of those states.  It is certainly possible to get in legal trouble for possessing gabapentin without a prescription, though.  Most people who abuse gabapentin also abuse other prescription drugs, so if police find gabapentin in your possession, it may lead them to search for other drugs.  Likewise, if you try to obtain or distribute any prescription drug illegally, regardless of whether it is a controlled substance, you can get criminal charges.

Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases

A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are being charged with drug crimes because of a series of events that started with a bottle of gabapentin pills.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Sources:

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