(a)  No person shall obtain or attempt to obtain a controlled substance or procure or attempt to procure the administration of a controlled substance:

(1)  By fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or subterfuge;

(2)  By the forgery or alteration of a prescription or of any written order;

(3)  By the concealment of material fact; or

(4)  By the use of a false name or the giving of a false address.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-4.05

  • Controlled substance: means a drug, substance, immediate precursor, or synthetic drug in schedules I — V of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures but does not include an apothecary who compounds controlled substances to be sold or dispensed on prescriptions. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Person: means any corporation, association, partnership, or one or more individuals. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Practitioner: means :

    (i)  A physician, osteopath, dentist, chiropodist, veterinarian, scientific investigator, or other person licensed, registered, or permitted to distribute, dispense, conduct research with respect to or to administer a controlled substance in the course of professional practice or research in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02

  • Wholesaler: means a person who sells, vends, or distributes at wholesale, or as a jobber, broker agent, or distributor, or for resale in any manner in this state any controlled substance. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02

(b)  Information communicated to a physician in an unlawful effort to procure the administration of a controlled substance shall not be deemed a privileged communication.

(c)  No person shall willfully make a false statement in any prescription, order, report, or record, required by this chapter.

(d)  No person shall, for the purpose of obtaining a controlled substance, falsely assume the title of, or represent himself or herself to be, a manufacturer, wholesaler, practitioner, or other authorized person.

(e)  No person shall make or utter any false or forged prescription or false or forged written order for controlled substances.

(f)  No person shall affix any false or forged label to a package or receptacle containing controlled substances.

(g)  Any person who violates this section is guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, and fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.

History of Section.
P.L. 1974, ch. 183, § 2; P.L. 1985, ch. 154, § 1.