PRESCRIPTION FRAUD AND DRUG OFFENSES

The state has cracked down on pills and opiate arrests continue to skyrocket.  The crackdown on Florida pill mills has dramatically limited the number of scripts being written by pill mill doctors.  This has not stopped people that are addicted from trying to get pills like Percocet, Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Oxycodone , Oxycontin and Hydrocodone.  Often prescription pads are stolen from doctor’s offices and forged. Often nurses and medical office employees are themselves involved.   Another common offense is having someone else, with a real medical condition, visit a doctor and obtain a prescription, have it filled,  and then sell the pills to you. Florida now has a drug database that is tightening the noose on people “doctor shopping”.  For many people visiting multiple doctors is now all but impossible.  As a drug lawyer, over the years, I have represented doctors, pharmacists and addicts.  The DEA is now really monitoring the number of pills going to each pharmacy and tracking trends.  When they see a drug store or pharmacy getting an unusual quantity of a particular controlled substance, an investigation is almost a guarantee.  

The addicts are between a rock and a hard place.  Many people have a chemical dependency that is almost uncontrollable.  If a person is arrested as a result of an addiction to pills, chances are, they need treatment, not incarceration.  We may be able to get your case in Sarasota or Bradenton in  ”Drug Court” and keep you from getting tagged with a felony record.  Treatment is a better option than jail.  If you are addicted, you need help, not prosecution.  Over the years, Peter Aiken has defended nurses and doctors that find themselves addicted.  Other health care professionals also end up with a drug dependency and for them, a conviction can cost them their license.  Avoiding a felony conviction is always our number one goal.  If you or a loved one gets arrested, give us a call for a free consultation at 941 366 3506   Non Prescription Pills and Steroids can lead to an arrest.  Athletes sometimes use performance enhancing drugs.  Body builders use steroids and often get these unlawful items through the Internet.  Our firm had defended people getting drugs from China, India and Eastern Europe. The Federal Government including Customs, the DEA and the Postal Department regularly intercept drugs shipped into the County and often law enforcement makes a “controlled delivery” followed by a search, a seizure and an arrest.  Steroid crimes are sometimes prosecuted in Federal Court in Tampa and Fort Myers.  The most common method for smuggling and selling drugs is the Internet.  We defend Internet drug crimes.  Money laundering is also often charged if the Feds are involved and huge money seizures and forfeitures can  and do result from Federal investigations.  

Synthetic and Designer Drug Defense

Possession and trafficking in Synthetic Drugs    In June of 2014, Governor Scott signed House Bill 697 increasing the penalties in Florida for anyone who manufactures, purchases, delivers or brings into the State trafficking quantities of certain prohibited synthetic drugs.  These are complex chemical compounds sold in mini marts, smoke shops and gas stations that produce hallucinations and highs.  They are marketed at herbal incense and bath salts under many different names.  Florida and the Federal Government have targeted these substances for the last few years.  Most of the sales are to people between the age of 16 and 30.  The penalties if convicted are huge.    Minimum Mandatory Penalties for Synthetic Drugs   You can go to prison for minimum terms of three, seven or fifteen years depending on the quantity of drugs possessed, delivered or sold. Local law enforcement as well as the DEA have targeted the people who manufacture synthetic cannabinoids or phenethylamines and arrests across Florida continue.  Money laundering charges can be expected as a part of the prosecution.  Hiring an experienced criminal defense lawyer is critical to staying out of prison.  In Sarasota and Bradenton the Sheriff has detectives making undercover “buys” in gas stations, markets and head shops preparing for the execution of search warrants and the arrest of those involved.  Even though the chemical composition continues to change, every time it does, the Florida Legislature attempts to keep up by adding more chemical substances to the list.  In defending these cases expert testimony from chemists is sometimes necessary.               How to Defend a Synthetic Drug Charge   Not all criminal defense lawyers have actually defended these types of cases.  Depending on the facts of your case, you may have a highly technical defense or a standard defense to possession or delivery of the synthetic chemical.  The police still have to prove that you knowingly possessed the illegal substance.  Did you know it was in your car or house?   Did it belong to someone else?  In many instances, the drugs are obtained through the U. S. Mail or through Federal Express or UPS through the use of fictitious names and legitimate addresses.  Some are obtained through straw buyers who are used to accept delivery.  The police follow the money to the source in good prosecutions.  Since the chemical composition is constantly being changed in Molly and other designer drugs and synthetic drugs you may have to mount a highly technical defense with testimony from first class chemists.  Our defense firm has defended a number of these types of cases.  We will leave no stone unturned in your defense.   Call today to speak with a drug lawyer about your case….No charge for a free consultation In Sarasota or Bradenton call 941 366 3506