What Is Florida “Doctor Shopping?”

Florida has very strict laws surrounding the possession, sale, and trafficking of drugs, seeing these crimes as dangerous not only to specific individuals, but to society at large. Generally, this does not apply to those who have legitimate prescriptions for controlled substances – for example, a person diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may have a prescription for Adderall, which is a Schedule II drug under federal law. Some try to exploit this by engaging in a process known as “doctor shopping” – but doing so is a crime, and it will be prosecuted aggressively.

What It Is & Is Not

Doctor shopping is when a person visits multiple medical professionals in order to obtain multiple prescriptions for the same controlled substance. It is a pattern of behavior most often associated with addicts, though some do this in order to sell their ill-gotten gains. There are many different ways that one can engage in doctor shopping, but three are the most common: (1) by lying to a doctor about your medical condition in order to ‘qualify’ for a prescription; (2) providing fake records in order to obtain a prescription; and (3) hiding information from the doctor about any ‘similar’ prescriptions you have obtained within the last 30 days.

Doctor shopping is not simply seeing multiple doctors over the same complaint – after all, obtaining a second opinion is a very common thing for patients to do. Even obtaining prescriptions from multiple doctors may not be a problem if the medications are significantly dissimilar. However, if you have engaged in any of the three behaviors listed, you may face charges if you are not already, and it is crucial to ensure your interests are represented.

Serious Potential Penalties

If you are charged with an offense related to doctor shopping, it is imperative that you take the charges seriously, particularly since it is highly likely that the state may already have evidence that you have committed the crime in question. Florida and many other states have monitoring programs intended to keep tabs on purchases of narcotics and other controlled substances – if they can track your prescriptions, it can be persuasive evidence against you in criminal court, and many of these offenses are tried as felonies.

That said, you do have the right to mount a defense. Because doctor shopping crimes can be so varied, it is hard to figure out the right plan of attack until one knows the specific facts of their situation, but the only thing that is truly relevant is whether or not one can create reasonable doubt. The right legal help on your side may make all the difference.

Call A West Palm Beach Drug Offenses Attorney

Doctor shopping can be a symptom of addiction, or it may be a means to an end, but either way, it can result in years or even decades behind bars if you are convicted of this type of offense. A West Palm Beach drug offenses attorney from the firm of Perlet & Shiner, P.A. can help. Contact our office today at (561) 721-0552 to speak to an attorney.

Source:

dea.gov/sites/default/files/2023-02/Prescription%20Controlled.pdf