New York State Law
Penal Law
Consolidated Laws of New York's Penal code
Article 178 - NY Penal Law
CRIMINAL DIVERSION OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS AND PRESCRIPTIONS
| Section | Offense | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 178.00 | Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions; definitions. | |
| 178.05 | Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions; limitation. | |
| 178.10 | Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree. | A MISD |
| 178.15 | Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the third degree. | E FELONY |
| 178.20 | Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the second degree. | D FELONY |
| 178.25 | Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the first degree. | C FELONY |
| 178.26 | Fraud and deceit related to controlled substances. | A MISD |
S 178.00 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions; definitions. The following definitions are applicable to this article: 1. "Prescription medication or device" means any article for which a prescription is required in order to be lawfully sold, delivered or distributed by any person authorized by law to engage in the practice of the profession of pharmacy. 2. "Prescription" means a direction or authorization by means of a written prescription form or an oral prescription which permits a person to lawfully obtain a prescription medication or device from any person authorized to dispense such prescription medication or device. 3. "Criminal diversion act" means an act or acts in which a person knowingly: (a) transfers or delivers, in exchange for anything of pecuniary value, a prescription medication or device with knowledge or reasonable grounds to know that the recipient has no medical need for it; or (b) receives, in exchange for anything of pecuniary value, a prescription medication or device with knowledge or reasonable grounds to know that the seller or transferor is not authorized by law to sell or transfer such prescription medication or device; or (c) transfers or delivers a prescription in exchange for anything of pecuniary value; or (d) receives a prescription in exchange for anything of pecuniary value. S 178.05 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions; limitation. 1. The provisions of this article shall not apply to: (a) a duly licensed physician or other person authorized to issue a prescription acting in good faith in the lawful course of his or her profession; or (b) a duly licensed pharmacist acting in good faith in the lawful course of the practice of pharmacy; or (c) a person acting in good faith seeking treatment for a medical condition or assisting another person to obtain treatment for a medical condition. 2. No provision of this article relating to the sale of a prescription medication or device shall be deemed to authorize any act prohibited by article thirty-three of the public health law or article two hundred twenty of this chapter. S 178.10 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree. A person is guilty of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree when he or she commits a criminal diversion act. Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree is a class A misdemeanor. S 178.15 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the third degree. A person is guilty of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the third degree when he or she: 1. commits a criminal diversion act, and the value of the benefit exchanged is in excess of one thousand dollars; or 2. commits the crime of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree, and has previously been convicted of the crime of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the fourth degree. Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the third degree is a class E felony. S 178.20 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the second degree. A person is guilty of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the second degree when he or she commits a criminal diversion act, and the value of the benefit exchanged is in excess of three thousand dollars. Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the second degree is a class D felony. S 178.25 Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the first degree. A person is guilty of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the first degree when he or she commits a criminal diversion act, and the value of the benefit exchanged is in excess of fifty thousand dollars. Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions in the first degree is a class C felony. S 178.26 Fraud and deceit related to controlled substances. 1. No person shall willfully: (a) obtain or attempt to obtain a controlled substance, a prescription for a controlled substance or an official New York state prescription form, (i) by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge; or (ii) by the concealment of a material fact; or (iii) by the use of a false name or the giving of a false address; (b) make a false statement in any prescription, order, application, report or record required by article thirty-three of the public health law; (c) falsely assume the title of, or represent himself or herself to be a licensed manufacturer, distributor, pharmacy, pharmacist, practitioner, researcher, approved institutional dispenser, owner or employee of a registered outsourcing facility or other authorized person, for the purpose of obtaining a controlled substance as these terms are defined in article thirty-three of the public health law; (d) make or utter any false or forged prescription or false or forged written order; (e) affix any false or forged label to a package or receptacle containing controlled substances; or (f) imprint on or affix to any controlled substance a false or forged code number or symbol. 2. Possession of a false or forged prescription for a controlled substance by any person other than a pharmacist in the lawful pursuance of his or her profession shall be presumptive evidence of his or her intent to use the same for the purpose of illegally obtaining a controlled substance. 3. Possession of a blank official New York state prescription form by any person to whom it was not lawfully issued shall be presumptive evidence of such person's intent to use same for the purpose of illegally obtaining a controlled substance. 4. Any person who, in the course of treatment, is supplied with a controlled substance or a prescription therefor by one practitioner and who with the intent to deceive, intentionally withholds or intentionally fails to disclose the fact, is supplied during such treatment with a controlled substance or a prescription therefor by another practitioner shall be guilty of a violation of this article. 5. The provisions of subdivision one of section thirty-three hundred ninety-six of the public health law shall apply to this section. Fraud and deceit related to controlled substances is a class A misdemeanor. Top of Page
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