Writing a False Prescription – Overview – California Business & Professions Code Section 4324

Writing a false prescription to obtain drugs or narcotics is a serious crime in California.  The law makes it a crime to write a false prescription or to have in possession of drugs that were obtained by a false prescription.  The prosecution does not take this crime lightly because of the increasing public awareness of the addictiveness of prescription drugs.

California Business & Professions Code Section 4323 states that every person who, in order to obtain any drug, falsely represents himself or herself to be a physician or other person who can lawfully prescribe the drug, or falsely represents that he or she is acting on behalf of a person who can lawfully prescribe the drug, in a telephone or electronic communication with a pharmacist, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.

Under California Business & Professions Code Section 4324, every person who signs the name of another, or of a fictitious person, or falsely makes, alters, forges, utters, publishes, passes, or attempts to pass, as genuine, any prescription for any drugs is guilty of forgery and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for up to three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.

It is also a crime for any person to have in his or her possession any drugs secured by a forged prescription and a conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for up to three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year.  See California Business & Professions Code Section 4324(b).

There are a number of defenses to the crime of writing a false prescription.  A few examples include providing evidence that the defendant did not falsely sign a prescription, the defendant did not alter a prescription, and the defendant did not have knowledge that he/she did not have authority to sign for a prescription.

If you or a loved one is charged with writing a false prescription, it is important that you speak with an experienced false prescription attorney.  At Wallin & Klarich, our Southern California false prescription attorneys have over 30 years of experience.  Our attorneys apply an aggressive defense and will fight to get you the best possible result in your case.  Call us today at (888) 280-6839 or contact us through our website at www.wklaw.com.  We will be there when you call.