Medicine is intended to help. Prescription medications are controlled, but you still see them the same way: They’re here to help people.

So what if you have prescription medications that you no longer need or use, and you know someone who says that they do need them? This may be a friend or a family member. Doesn’t it make sense to give your extra medications to the person in need so that you can help them?

Prescriptions are only legal for you

What you must remember is that prescriptions written to you only make those medications legal for you. They are still illegal controlled substances for anyone else. And, for this reason, you cannot share them.

Intent doesn’t matter here. You can tell the authorities that you thought you were doing a good thing or that you were just trying to help. That may be completely true. But that does not mean you didn’t break the law by giving those medications to someone without a prescription.

Why is the law set up this way? There are numerous reasons, but addiction is one of the biggest ones. Someone who is addicted may not be able to legally get the medications that they want. They could turn to friends and family members to get those drugs for them. This is clearly not an approved use and only makes the addiction worse.

Plus, some of these medications can be dangerous. Painkillers are often linked to overdose deaths, for example. There is a reason that they are controlled. If you break that control by giving them out as you see fit, the concern is that they’re going to find their way into the hands of someone who will use them illegally and dangerously.

What if you get arrested?

If you get arrested on drug charges, it can be jarring and surprising. This is especially true if you didn’t even know that what you were doing broke the law in the first place. Since these charges can have such a major impact on your future, you need to know what legal options you have.