Ohio Code 2925.23 – Illegal processing of drug documents
(A) No person shall knowingly make a false statement in any prescription, order, report, or record required by Chapter 3719. or 4729. of the Revised Code.
Attorney's Note
Under the Ohio Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Felony of the fourth degree | 6 to 18 months | up to $5,000 |
| Felony of the fifth degree | 6 to 12 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Ohio Code 2925.23
- Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
- Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Professionally licensed person: means any of the following:
(1) A person who has received a certificate or temporary certificate as a certified public accountant or who has registered as a public accountant under Chapter 4701 of the Revised Code and who holds an Ohio permit issued under that chapter;
(2) A person who holds a certificate of qualification to practice architecture issued or renewed and registered under Chapter 4703 of the Revised Code;
(3) A person who is registered as a landscape architect under Chapter 4703 of the Revised Code or who holds a permit as a landscape architect issued under that chapter;
(4) A person licensed under Chapter 4707 of the Revised Code;
(5) A person who has been issued a certificate of registration as a registered barber under Chapter 4709 of the Revised Code;
(6) A person licensed and regulated to engage in the business of a debt pooling company by a legislative authority, under authority of Chapter 4710 of the Revised Code;
(7) A person who has been issued a cosmetologist's license, hair designer's license, manicurist's license, esthetician's license, natural hair stylist's license, advanced cosmetologist's license, advanced hair designer's license, advanced manicurist's license, advanced esthetician's license, advanced natural hair stylist's license, cosmetology instructor's license, hair design instructor's license, manicurist instructor's license, esthetics instructor's license, natural hair style instructor's license, independent contractor's license, or tanning facility permit under Chapter 4713 of the Revised Code;
(8) A person who has been issued a license to practice dentistry, a general anesthesia permit, a conscious sedation permit, a limited resident's license, a limited teaching license, a dental hygienist's license, or a dental hygienist's teacher's certificate under Chapter 4715 of the Revised Code;
(9) A person who has been issued an embalmer's license, a funeral director's license, a funeral home license, or a crematory license, or who has been registered for an embalmer's or funeral director's apprenticeship under Chapter 4717 of the Revised Code;
(10) A person who has been licensed as a registered nurse or practical nurse, or who has been issued a certificate for the practice of nurse-midwifery under Chapter 4723 of the Revised Code;
(11) A person who has been licensed to practice optometry or to engage in optical dispensing under Chapter 4725 of the Revised Code;
(12) A person licensed to act as a pawnbroker under Chapter 4727 of the Revised Code;
(13) A person licensed to act as a precious metals dealer under Chapter 4728 of the Revised Code;
(14) A person licensed under Chapter 4729 of the Revised Code as a pharmacist or pharmacy intern or registered under that chapter as a registered pharmacy technician, certified pharmacy technician, or pharmacy technician trainee;
(15) A person licensed under Chapter 4729 of the Revised Code as a manufacturer of dangerous drugs, outsourcing facility, third-party logistics provider, repackager of dangerous drugs, wholesale distributor of dangerous drugs, or terminal distributor of dangerous drugs;
(16) A person who is authorized to practice as a physician assistant under Chapter 4730 of the Revised Code;
(17) A person who has been issued a license to practice medicine and surgery, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or podiatric medicine and surgery under Chapter 4731 of the Revised Code or has been issued a certificate to practice a limited branch of medicine under that chapter;
(18) A person licensed as a psychologist, independent school psychologist, or school psychologist under Chapter 4732 of the Revised Code;
(19) A person registered to practice the profession of engineering or surveying under Chapter 4733 of the Revised Code;
(20) A person who has been issued a license to practice chiropractic under Chapter 4734 of the Revised Code;
(21) A person licensed to act as a real estate broker or real estate salesperson under Chapter 4735 of the Revised Code;
(22) A person registered as a registered environmental health specialist under Chapter 4736 of the Revised Code;
(23) A person licensed to operate or maintain a junkyard under Chapter 4737 of the Revised Code;
(24) A person who has been issued a motor vehicle salvage dealer's license under Chapter 4738 of the Revised Code;
(25) A person who has been licensed to act as a steam engineer under Chapter 4739 of the Revised Code;
(26) A person who has been issued a license or temporary permit to practice veterinary medicine or any of its branches, or who is registered as a graduate animal technician under Chapter 4741 of the Revised Code;
(27) A person who has been issued a hearing aid dealer's or fitter's license or trainee permit under Chapter 4747 of the Revised Code;
(28) A person who has been issued a class A, class B, or class C license or who has been registered as an investigator or security guard employee under Chapter 4749 of the Revised Code;
(29) A person licensed to practice as a nursing home administrator under Chapter 4751 of the Revised Code;
(30) A person licensed to practice as a speech-language pathologist or audiologist under Chapter 4753 of the Revised Code;
(31) A person issued a license as an occupational therapist or physical therapist under Chapter 4755 of the Revised Code;
(32) A person who is licensed as a licensed professional clinical counselor, licensed professional counselor, social worker, independent social worker, independent marriage and family therapist, or marriage and family therapist, or registered as a social work assistant under Chapter 4757 of the Revised Code;
(33) A person issued a license to practice dietetics under Chapter 4759 of the Revised Code;
(34) A person who has been issued a license or limited permit to practice respiratory therapy under Chapter 4761 of the Revised Code;
(35) A person who has been issued a real estate appraiser certificate under Chapter 4763 of the Revised Code;
(36) A person who has been issued a home inspector license under Chapter 4764 of the Revised Code;
(37) A person who has been admitted to the bar by order of the supreme court in compliance with its prescribed and published rules. See Ohio Code 2925.01
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- United States: includes all the states. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Whoever: includes all persons, natural and artificial; partners; principals, agents, and employees; and all officials, public or private. See Ohio Code 1.02
(B) No person shall intentionally make, utter, or sell, or knowingly possess any of the following that is a false or forged:
(1) Prescription;
(2) Uncompleted preprinted prescription blank used for writing a prescription;
(3) Official written order;
(4) License for a terminal distributor of dangerous drugs, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code;
(5) License for a manufacturer of dangerous drugs, outsourcing facility, third-party logistics provider, repackager of dangerous drugs, or wholesale distributor of dangerous drugs, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.
(C) No person, by theft as defined in section 2913.02 of the Revised Code, shall acquire any of the following:
(1) A prescription;
(2) An uncompleted preprinted prescription blank used for writing a prescription;
(3) An official written order;
(4) A blank official written order;
(5) A license or blank license for a terminal distributor of dangerous drugs, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code;
(6) A license or blank license for a manufacturer of dangerous drugs, outsourcing facility, third-party logistics provider, repackager of dangerous drugs, or wholesale distributor of dangerous drugs, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code.
(D) No person shall knowingly make or affix any false or forged label to a package or receptacle containing any dangerous drugs.
(E) Divisions (A) and (D) of this section do not apply to licensed health professionals authorized to prescribe drugs, pharmacists, owners of pharmacies, and other persons whose conduct is in accordance with Chapters 3719., 4715., 4723., 4725., 4729., 4730., 4731., and 4741. of the Revised Code.
(F) Whoever violates this section is guilty of illegal processing of drug documents. If the offender violates division (B)(2), (4), or (5) or division (C)(2), (4), (5), or (6) of this section, illegal processing of drug documents is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender violates division (A), division (B)(1) or (3), division (C)(1) or (3), or division (D) of this section, the penalty for illegal processing of drug documents shall be determined as follows:
(1) If the drug involved is a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance included in schedule I or II, with the exception of marihuana, illegal processing of drug documents is a felony of the fourth degree, and division (C) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code applies in determining whether to impose a prison term on the offender.
(2) If the drug involved is a dangerous drug or a compound, mixture, preparation, or substance included in schedule III, IV, or V or is marihuana, illegal processing of drug documents is a felony of the fifth degree, and division (C) of section 2929.13 of the Revised Code applies in determining whether to impose a prison term on the offender.
(G)(1) In addition to any prison term authorized or required by division (F) of this section and sections 2929.13 and 2929.14 of the Revised Code and in addition to any other sanction imposed for the offense under this section or sections 2929.11 to 2929.18 of the Revised Code, the court that sentences an offender who is convicted of or pleads guilty to any violation of divisions (A) to (D) of this section may suspend for not more than five years the offender’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit. However, if the offender pleaded guilty to or was convicted of a violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a substantially similar municipal ordinance or the law of another state or the United States arising out of the same set of circumstances as the violation, the court shall suspend the offender’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit for not more than five years.
If the offender is a professionally licensed person, in addition to any other sanction imposed for a violation of this section, the court immediately shall comply with section 2925.38 of the Revised Code.
(2) Any offender who received a mandatory suspension of the offender’s driver’s or commercial driver’s license or permit under this section prior to September 13, 2016, may file a motion with the sentencing court requesting the termination of the suspension. However, an offender who pleaded guilty to or was convicted of a violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code or a substantially similar municipal ordinance or law of another state or the United States that arose out of the same set of circumstances as the violation for which the offender’s license or permit was suspended under this section shall not file such a motion.
Upon the filing of a motion under division (G)(2) of this section, the sentencing court, in its discretion, may terminate the suspension.
(H) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of section 3719.21 of the Revised Code, the clerk of court shall pay a fine imposed for a violation of this section pursuant to division (A) of section 2929.18 of the Revised Code in accordance with and subject to the requirements of division (F) of section 2925.03 of the Revised Code. The agency that receives the fine shall use the fine as specified in division (F) of section 2925.03 of the Revised Code.