NRS § 453.381 is the Nevada law that requires a medical provider to “prescribe or administer controlled substances only for a legitimate medical purpose and in the usual course of his or her professional practice.”
If you are a health care worker such as a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist convicted of violating NRS 453.381, you face not only professional discipline such as a license suspension or revocation. You also face penalties for a category C felony, including:
- 1 – 5 years in Nevada State Prison, and
- up to $10,000
Though the D.A. could be amenable to a plea bargain that results in an NRS 453.381 charge getting reduced or even dismissed. Possible defenses include:
- you were falsely accused;
- (in pharmacist cases) you had no reason to believe the prescription was invalid prior to filling it; or
- you were a victim of entrapment by law enforcement
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss the Nevada crime of unlawfully prescribing, possessing, administering, transporting and dispensing controlled substances. Click on a topic to jump directly to that section:
- 1. What is the legal definition of unlawfully prescribing or dispensing drugs in Nevada?
- 2. What are the penalties under NRS 453.381?
- 3. What are the best defenses?
- 4. Are there immigration consequences?
- 5. Can the record be sealed?
- 6. Related offenses
1. What is the legal definition of unlawfully prescribing or dispensing drugs in Nevada?
NRS 453.381 prohibits health providers and companies from deviating from established law when prescribing, dispensing, or supplying prescription medications.
In short, if you are a health care worker, you are required to follow stringent rules when providing prescriptions and medications to others; abusing your privileges by breaking these rules is a felony crime.1
Violating NRS 453.381 is a category C felony.
2. What are the penalties under NRS 453.381?
Unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance is punished as a category C felony. The sentence is:
- one to five (1 – 5) years in prison, and
- up to $10,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion)2
In addition, the licensing board that granted you your professional license may initiate disciplinary procedures against you. Learn more about license suspensions for doctors convicted of crimes.
3. What are the best defenses?
There are several possible defenses to NRS 453.381 charges depending on the specific situation. Some include:
- You were falsely accused by an angry patient or vengeful co-worker;
- In cases of pharmacists, you had no reason to believe that the prescription was problematic before dispensing the medication;3
- The police unlawfully goaded you into breaking the law when you were not predisposed to (in short, you were entrapped).
No matter the criminal case, the D.A. is required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt should the case go to trial. You and prosecution may try to admit various evidence, such as:
- eyewitnesses,
- medical notes, and
- surveillance videos
If your defense attorney can demonstrate to the prosecution that their evidence is too weak to sustain a guilty verdict, the charges should be dismissed before the trial.
4. Are there immigration consequences?
There are no published cases where the Las Vegas immigration court adjudged an NRS 453.381 violation as deportable. Though since this offense involves drugs, it is likely that the court would consider it to be deportable as an aggravated felony and/or a crime involving moral turpitude.
Any non-citizen accused of violating NRS 453.381 is strongly encouraged to seek out an attorney who will fight for a charge reduction to a non-deportable offense (or a full dismissal if possible).
5. Can the record be sealed?
If you are convicted of violating NRS 453.381, you must wait five (5) years after the case ends before you can ask the court to seal your criminal record. Though if the charge gets dismissed, then there is no waiting period to ask the court for a record seal.
Learn more about Nevada record seal procedures.
A conviction for unlawfully prescribing drugs must remain on your record for five years before it can be sealed in Nevada.
6. Related offenses
6.1. Health care fraud
Health care fraud occurs when health care providers try to cheat insurance companies out of monies they are not lawfully entitled to. It is a category D penalty. The sentence is:
- one to four (1 – 4) years in prison, and
- up to $5,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion), and
- restitution to the insurance company, and
- reimbursement to the government for investigating the case
6.2. Unlawful obtaining of prescription drugs
Illegally obtaining prescription drugs (NRS 453.391) is a category C felony. The punishment carries:
- one to five (1 – 5) years in prison, and
- up to $10,000 in fines (at the judge’s discretion)
NRS 453.391 also makes it a crime for patients to obtain prescriptions from one doctor without first informing that doctor about prior prescriptions (a.k.a. doctor shopping).
6.3. Drug possession
The punishment for drug possession (NRS 453.336) turns on the types of drugs and your criminal history.
Legal References
- NRS 453.381 – Limitations on prescribing, possessing, administering, transporting and dispensing controlled substances.
1. In addition to the limitations imposed by NRS 453.256 and 453.3611 to 453.3648, inclusive, a physician, physician assistant, dentist, advanced practice registered nurse or podiatric physician may prescribe or administer controlled substances only for a legitimate medical purpose and in the usual course of his or her professional practice, and he or she shall not prescribe, administer or dispense a controlled substance listed in schedule II for himself or herself, his or her spouse or his or her children except in cases of emergency.
2. A veterinarian, in the course of his or her professional practice only, and not for use by a human being, may prescribe, possess and administer controlled substances, and the veterinarian may cause them to be administered by a veterinary technician under the direction and supervision of the veterinarian.
3. A euthanasia technician, within the scope of his or her license, and not for use by a human being, may possess and administer sodium pentobarbital.
4. A pharmacist shall not fill an order which purports to be a prescription if the pharmacist has reason to believe that it was not issued in the usual course of the professional practice of a physician, physician assistant, dentist, advanced practice registered nurse, podiatric physician or veterinarian.
5. Any person who has obtained from a physician, physician assistant, dentist, advanced practice registered nurse, podiatric physician or veterinarian any controlled substance for administration to a patient during the absence of the physician, physician assistant, dentist, advanced practice registered nurse, podiatric physician or veterinarian shall return to him or her any unused portion of the substance when it is no longer required by the patient.
6. A manufacturer, wholesale supplier or other person legally able to furnish or sell any controlled substance listed in schedule II shall not provide samples of such a controlled substance to registrants.
7. A salesperson of any manufacturer or wholesaler of pharmaceuticals shall not possess, transport or furnish any controlled substance listed in schedule II.
8. A person shall not dispense a controlled substance in violation of a regulation adopted by the [Pharmacy] Board.
- NRS 453.421 - Penalty for violation of NRS 453.371 to 453.391, inclusive. A person who violates any provision of NRS 453.371 to 453.391, inclusive, is guilty of a category C felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
- NRS 453.381(4). See also Nevada State Bd. of Dental Exmrs. v. Toogood (1981) 628 P.2d 301.
- NRS 179.245.
- NRS 179.255.