Good Criminal Defense Attorney in Houston, Texas
If you have been arrested in Houston, Texas for prescription fraud or illegally possession of prescription drugs, then you need a good criminal defense attorney who cares as much about the best possible outcome to your case as you do. You need a good criminal defense lawyer on your side who will fight to protect your rights.
When you have been charged with prescription fraud or illegally possession of prescription drugs in Houston, Texas the best lawyer for you is an attorney who practices in criminal law. I am an experienced criminal defense lawyer, with over 15 years of experience as a criminal defense attorney and prosecutor. I have worked on a wide range of criminal cases as both a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. If there's one thing that I have learned over the years, it is that anyone can make a mistake, and mistakes have the potential to change a person's life forever. I do not believe that your future should be lost because of a single error in judgment.
Texas Health and Safety Code. Texas Controlled Substances Act. Section 481.129. OFFENSE: FRAUD. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly: (1) distributes as a registrant or dispenser a controlled substance listed in Schedule I or II, unless the person distributes the controlled substance under an order form as required by Section 481.069; (2) uses in the course of manufacturing, prescribing, or distributing a controlled substance a registration number that is fictitious, revoked, suspended, or issued to another person; (3) issues a prescription bearing a forged or fictitious signature; (4) uses a prescription issued to another person to prescribe a Schedule II controlled substance; (5) possesses, obtains, or attempts to possess or obtain a controlled substance or an increased quantity of a controlled substance: (A) by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception, or subterfuge; (B) through use of a fraudulent prescription form; or (C) through use of a fraudulent oral or telephonically communicated prescription; or (6) furnishes false or fraudulent material information in or omits material information from an application, report, record, or other document required to be kept or filed under this chapter. (b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally: (1) makes, distributes, or possesses a punch, die, plate, stone, or other thing designed to print, imprint, or reproduce an actual or simulated trademark, trade name, or other identifying mark, imprint, or device of another on a controlled substance or the container or label of a container for a controlled substance, so as to make the controlled substance a counterfeit substance; or (2) manufactures, delivers, or possesses with intent to deliver a counterfeit substance. (c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally: (1) delivers a prescription or a prescription form for other than a valid medical purpose in the course of professional practice; or (2) possesses a prescription for a controlled substance or a prescription form unless the prescription or prescription form is possessed: (A) during the manufacturing or distribution process; (B) by a practitioner, practitioner's agent, or an institutional practitioner for a valid medical purpose during the course of professional practice; (C) by a pharmacist or agent of a pharmacy during the professional practice of pharmacy; (D) under a practitioner's order made by the practitioner for a valid medical purpose in the course of professional practice; or (E) by an officer or investigator authorized to enforce this chapter within the scope of the officer's or investigator's official duties. (d) An offense under Subsection (a) is: (1) a felony of the second degree if the controlled substance that is the subject of the offense is listed in Schedule I or II; (2) a felony of the third degree if the controlled substance that is the subject of the offense is listed in Schedule III or IV; and (3) a Class A misdemeanor if the controlled substance that is the subject of the offense is listed in Schedule V. (e) An offense under Subsection (b) is a Class A misdemeanor. (f) An offense under Subsection (c)(1) is: (1) a felony of the second degree if the defendant delivers: (A) a prescription form; or (B) a prescription for a controlled substance listed in Schedule II; and (2) a felony of the third degree if the defendant delivers a prescription for a controlled substance listed in Schedule III, IV, or V. (g) An offense under Subsection (c)(2) is: (1) a state jail felony if the defendant possesses: (A) a prescription form; or (B) a prescription for a controlled substance listed in Schedule II or III; and (2) a Class B misdemeanor if the defendant possesses a prescription for a controlled substance listed in Schedule IV or V.
Many of the people arrested for prescription fraud include doctors, nurses, physicians assistants and other medical personnel who have access to medication and prescription forms. For these people, it is not just their freedom at stake, but it is also their career that is at stake. In Houston, the likely scenario and one which I have dealt with before, is the Pain Managment Clinic that is the target of an undercover police investigation which results in the arrest of a clinic employee for prescribing Vicodin, Xanax, and Soma for no medical purpose.
If you have been arrested for any crime involving prescription drugs, be sure that you have an experienced criminal defense lawyer who will fight to protect your rights and your job. At the law office of Mark A. Morasch, I offer my clients over 15 years of experience in the practice of criminal law.
Criminal charges involving prescription drugs are just as serious as those involving marijuana and cocaine. A conviction for Prescription Fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in the Texas Department of Corrections, and/or up to $10,000.00 in fines. When the best possible outcome matters, contact the Houston, Texas, Law Office of Mark A. Morasch today for a free initial consultation.
Since 2003, I have represented people arrested in Houston, Texas for a wide range of prescription drug crimes, including:
- Prescription Forgery
- Altering a Prescription
- Prescribing a Controlled Substance for No Medical Purpose
- Illegal Possession of Prescription Drugs
- Distribution and Sale of Prescription Drugs
- Illegal use of Practitioner's Federal Drug Enforcement Administration Number
- Refilling Prescription without Authorization
- Unauthorized Communication of Prescription
Get the Help You Need 24/7 from a Good Criminal Defense Lawyer in Houston, Texas
If you have been arrested for prescription drugs, then contact my office to discuss your case today. You can speak to someone weekday or weekend, day or night by calling 713-got-aDWI (that's 713-468-2394) or you can use the e-mail link for a response the next business day. In criminal cases I offer payment plans, and I accept Visa and MasterCard. Program 713-got-aDWI into your cell phone now, because you never know when you'll need help.
