Morphine - The Law

The Law

The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 placed morphine on the Schedule II list of controlled substances. This means that the U.S. government deems morphine to be a drug with medicinal uses that also carries the potential for abuse and addiction. Doctors who wish to prescribe morphine must register with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Morphine prescriptions are not like the typical slips of paper issued for most prescription drugs. They are more complicated and must be filed with the DEA, where records are kept on each doctor and how much morphine he or she prescribes. If the DEA determines that a doctor is prescribing too much morphine, that doctor can face criminal prosecution and possible jail time.

Illegal possession or sale of morphine, or any Schedule II drug, carries serious penalties, even on a first offense. Anyone caught with the drug can expect fines of as much as $10,000, mandatory drug testing, loss of driver's license, loss of federal government college financial aid, and a permanent criminal record. Judges often order opiate abusers into detoxificationOften abbreviated as detox; a difficult process by which substance abusers stop taking those substances and rid their bodies of the toxins that accumulated during the time they consumed such substances. clinics. Second offenses almost always carry jail time and very heavy fines.

Because morphine is so habit-forming, its use can lead to other sorts of crime. People craving the drug are more likely to rob homes in search of cash or valuables. They are more likely to break into pharmacies or to commit armed robbery. They may resort to prostitution to pay for their habits, making themselves vulnerable to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases. An arrest for any of these offenses will result in jail time, where the addict will receive little treatment as he or she faces drug withdrawal.