Prohibited Prescription Drugs

Prohibited Prescription Drugs for Drug Court Participants

We know that drug court is only for folks with a drug problem, and we know that Americans are taking more presecription drugs than ever—so what happens if you want drug court treatment, yet you’re also being medically treated for other ailments?

Drug Court programs throughout Florida often ban certain prescription drugs, most typically Schedule I and Schedule II drugs. Schedule I drugs are considered highly addictive drugs with little or no medical use, like cocaine, heroin, LSD, marijuana, and methaqualone. Now, many medical professionals would disagree with Florida’s conclusion that these drugs have “no medical use”, especially marijuana, but we’ll save that debate for another day (there’s at least 16 states out there whose Senate and Congress have approved the medical use of marijuana, look them up for more info…).

The problem a drug court has with certain prescription drugs is that they cannot determine via drug screenings whether or not the drug is being used, or abused. What good is a drug court program at helping a pill addict, if the pill addict is legally entitled to take the pills? There are no easy answers, but it’s safe to say that if a drug court participant is taking a Schedule II medication, he will test positive for either Opiates or Benzodiazepine. The good news is that some drug court programs will permit a client to re-apply to the program once a physician signs off on allowing the client to stop taking the medication.

This is a very difficult choice for many drug court participants. Do they give up their legitimate medical treatment in order to have their felony drug charges dropped? Yikes. That’s a tough choice. The list of drugs on this page provides much needed help to many people, so I highly recommend that folks get into their doctor’s office and find alternative means of treatment while getting through the drug court program. This will not be easy, but drug court programs have few exceptions to their rules regarding prohibited medications.

A recent development in Florida is the legalization of medical marijuana. Naturally, we don’t want our citizens to be without their prescription meds, but marijuana is typically not tolerated in a drug court program. So far, Seminole County, Orange County, and Osceola County’s drug court programs will not permit their participants to partake of their prescription marijuana while participating in the drug court program. Naturally, there are other medicines that provide relief which are accepted in the program, and participants will have to discuss other treatment options with their doctor until they complete the drug court program.

Here’s a list of some of the most common Schedule II medications banned from drug court use (the DEA’s website has a complete list of Schedule II drugs):

• Amphetamine/Methamphetamine:
  • Adderall
  • Dexedrine
  • Desoxyn
  • Ritalin
  • Vyvanse
• Benzodiazepine:
  • Alprazolam
  • Ativan
  • Halcion
  • Restoril
  • Valium
  • Xanax
• Barbiturates:
  • Phenobarbital
  • Seconal
• Opiate/Opiod:
  • Buprenorphine
  • Codeine
  • Concerta
  • Darvocet
  • Demerol
  • Dilaudid
  • Hydrocodone
  • Lortab/Lorcet
  • Methadone
  • Morphine
  • OxyContin/Oxycodone
  • Percocet
  • Suboxone
  • Vicodine