NEW JERSEY CRIMINAL LAWYERS

NJ PRESCRIPTION LEGEND DRUGS

Facing Legal Charges? Hire a Lawyer!

If you face charges of prescription drug possession or sale in Camden County, you could be dealing with serious penalties. It is essential to hire an experienced lawyer who can help effectively fight these charges. At the Spodek Law Group, our experienced lawyers offer aggressive representation and can help you resolve this situation. With over 100 years of combined experience dealing with legal aspects surrounding prescription drugs, you can trust us to handle your case professionally. We serve clients from both municipal and county courts within Camden County.

N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5 – Varying Degrees of Severity

N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5 makes it illegal to possess or distribute prescription drugs without a valid prescription (or intent to distribute). This offense covers any substances that require prescriptions but are being possessed or distributed without justification.

Prescription legend drugs are among the most abused medicines in recent times, such as opiate-based pain medication and nervous system depressants like fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, Nembutal, valium, and Xanax.

Penalties vary depending on the degree of severity regarding the number of pills or dosage units illegally procured. For example, illegal possession below four dosage units bears disorderly persons offenses while possessing at least five pills or more commits fourth-degree crime offenses.

For violating N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5 law provisions, you could end up serving six months in Camden County Jail if convicted or pay a fine topping out at $1,000—or worse still face probation terms.

Possession & Sale of Prescription Drugs Done with Intent to Distribute

If you distribute illegally obtained prescription drugs or possess them unrightfully with distribution intentions beyond 100 dosage units/pills under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5 law provisions‚ that is a second-degree crime. If charged under this law provision, selling at least five pills and up to 100 pills also constitutes a second-degree crime.

However, for selling four or fewer dosage units of prescription drugs without proper documentation, it is considered a fourth-degree crime. Additionally, if you obtain illegal prescription drugs through forgery or deception tactics or attempted such acts, that too is a fourth-degree crime.

The stern penalty includes:

Second Degree Crime – incarceration ranging between five to ten years and fines going up to $300,000.
Third Degree Crime – a prison sentence of three to five years imposed in combination with the maximum cash fine not exceeding $200,000.
Fourth Degree Crime – you will pay a fine as high as $10,000 besides serving jail time between eighteen months maximum and probation.

Conviction may lead to your license suspension for six months.

Defense Bids on Prescription Drug Offense

If licensed users prescribe medicines within their mandate boundaries, they are exempt from violating laws under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5 offenses. Similarly, validly prescribed usage of the drug provides an affirmative defense bid. In limited cases involving third-degree distribution charges only‚ “De minimis infraction” could be applied where proven such conduct involves six or fewer dosage units distributed within 24 hours (and will be deemed for personal use only).

Get Experienced Legal Representation

To protect yourself from serve penalties like heavy fines and lengthy jail times (ranging from second degree down to fourth degree) under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10.5 charges requires hiring an attorney capable of helping safeguarding your freedom throughout court engagements.

At Spodek Law Group our experienced attorneys can help navigate these obstacles after encountering police officers before representing you before both court and prosecution teams; providing much-required legal representation guidance culminating shedding light needed into the case details required all through the legal proceedings. You may reach out to us at 888-729-3328 for your appointment, and we can offer an initial free consultation.

Penalties Table for Prescription Drugs Sale, Distribution, and Possession:

Offense
Classification
Penalty

Disorderly persons offense
Possession of four or fewer dosage units without a valid prescription
Up to 6 months in Camden County Jail, fine up to $1000, probation

Fourth-degree crime
Possession of five or more pills or dosage units without a valid prescription
Up to 18 months in jail and a maximum fine of $10,000

Fourth-degree crime
Selling four or fewer dosage units of prescription drugs
Fine up to $10,000 and jail term up to 18 months

Third-degree crime
Possessing or selling with intent to distribute from 5 -99 pills/dosage units of prescription drugs
Three to five years in state prison and a maximum fine of $200,000

Second-degree crime
Possessing, distributing or possessing with intent to distribute from 100 or more pills/dosage units of prescription drugs.
Incarceration for five-to-ten-years plus a maximum cash fine not exceeding $300,000.