When most people think about selling drugs, they consider things like high-level international drug smuggling between countries, or they think about people making illegal drugs, such as methamphetamine, and selling them on the black market.

But it certainly doesn't always work this way. There are plenty of ways to get legal drugs, and then you may be tempted to sell them to a third party. If you legally purchase them, are you allowed to do this?

Selling your prescription medications

For instance, maybe you have prescription medications. The prescriptions were written to you and you had them legally filled at a pharmacy, so it's entirely legal for you to own and use these medications.

If someone else wants to use them and offers to buy the extra drugs off of you, are you allowed to sell? Say you're done using the painkillers after your own recovery from surgery, and a family member wants to buy them from you. What happens if you sell?

This may feel like you could do it easily and no one would ever know, but the truth is that it's a violation of drug laws in the United States. It is legal for you to get those drugs with your prescription, but it is not legal for you to sell or even give them to someone else.

Selling recreational marijuana

Additionally, Colorado has legal recreational marijuana. This is not common in most of the United States, though there are more and more states offering it every year. You can go to the dispensary with your ID and buy marijuana without violating state laws.

But what if you have a friend who wanted to go to the dispensary with you and then got called into work? Can you buy marijuana from the dispensary and then sell it to them when you get home?

Again, this seems like something that you could easily do and that wouldn't really be a problem since you know that it's legal for your friend to go make a purchase, just like you did. But the only places that are legally allowed to sell marijuana are dispensaries. If you resell what you bought, even if it feels like it's not a big deal at the time, you can run afoul of drug laws.

What are your options?

If you've made a mistake or overlooked something crucial and you're now facing charges for illegally selling drugs, it's very important for you to understand your legal options. These are serious charges and you need to know what to do next.