You probably do a lot of little things to support your family. Whether you sometimes run errands for your aging parents or help out your sister who has young twins, offering practical support to the people you love is part of being in a family.
While there are many ways that you can help your loved ones and make their lives a little bit easier, there are certain favors that may entail more risk than you want to assume. Medical favors, particularly those involving prescription drugs, could lead to legal risk for you as the person doing the favor.
You take a risk if you store someone’s prescription medication for them
Maybe your sibling feels like their spouse has developed a drug issue, and they don’t want their prescribed pain medication at home while they are at work. Asking you to store the medicine so that they can get it quickly if they need it might seem like a simple solution.
However, if the police discover someone else’s prescription medication in your vehicle or your house, they won’t care how it got there. What they will care about is that it is not yours and that you do not have the legal right to possess or store it.
The risk is severe if someone asks for your excess medication
You paid the pharmacist for the medication your doctor prescribed. Whether you received sleep aids, erectile dysfunction medication or pain pills, you have a legal right to use the drug recommended by your doctor in the way that they authorized.
However, you do not have the right to transfer that medicine to anyone else. Even if you know you will never use it, it is not safe or legal for you to give or sell unused prescription medication to someone else. Even if that person would benefit from the medicine, you take a major legal risk by transferring it to them. Recognizing the limitations of what you can legally do with prescription drugs can help you avoid accidentally committing a drug crime in Texas.
