2021 Colorado Code
Title 18 - Criminal Code
Article 18 - Uniform Controlled Substances Act of 2013
Part 4 - Offenses and Penalties
§ 18-18-415. Fraud and Deceit

1. 1. No person shall obtain a controlled substance or procure the administration of a controlled substance by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or subterfuge; or by the forgery or alteration of an order; or by the concealment of a material fact; or by the use of a false name or the giving of a false address.
   2. Information communicated to a practitioner in an effort to procure a controlled substance other than for legitimate treatment purposes or unlawfully to procure the administration of any such controlled substance shall not be deemed a privileged communication.
   3. No person shall willfully make a false statement in any order, report, or record required by this article.
   4. No person, for the purpose of obtaining a controlled substance, shall falsely assume the title of, or represent himself to be, a manufacturer, distributor, practitioner, or other person authorized by law to obtain a controlled substance.
   5. No person shall make or utter any false or forged order.
   6. No person shall affix any false or forged label to a package or receptacle containing a controlled substance.

2. Any person who violates any provision of this section commits:
   1. A level 4 drug felony and shall be punished as provided in section 18-1.3-401.5.
   2. (Deleted by amendment, L. 2010, (HB 10-1352), ch. 259, p. 1170, § 8, effective August 11, 2010.)

History. Source: L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 371, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2002: (2)(a) and (2)(b) amended, p. 1520, § 215, effective October 1. L. 2010: (2) amended,(HB 10-1352), ch. 259, p. 1170, § 8, effective August 11. L. 2013: (2)(a) amended,(SB 13-250), ch. 333, p. 1923, § 24, effective October 1.

This section is similar to former § 12-22-315 as it existed prior to 1992.

For the legislative declaration contained in the 2002 act amending subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b), see section 1 of chapter 318, Session Laws of Colorado 2002.

Annotator's note. Since § 18-18-415 is similar to § 12-22-315 as it existed prior to its repeal in 1992 and is similar to § 12-22-319 as it existed prior to the repeal and reenactment of part 3 of article 22 of title 12 in 1981, relevant cases construing those provisions have been included in the annotations to this section.

Subsection (1)(b) is not unconstitutionally vague on its face. People v. Harte, 131 P.3d 1180 (Colo. App. 2005).

Subsection (1)(b) of this section operates as an exception to the physician-privilege in § 13-90-107 (1)(d) . When subsection (1)(b) applies, there is no privilege as to a communication made by a patient to a physician, and no waiver is required to introduce the communication at trial. People v. Harte, 231 P.3d 1180 (Colo. App. 2005).

The determination whether subsection (1)(b) applies to a communication between a patient and practitioner rests with the trial court, not with the recipient of the communication, a prospective witness, or another health care provider. People v. Harte, 131 P.3d 1180 (Colo. App. 2005).

An attorney's guilty plea to making and altering a false and forged prescription for Phentermine, a controlled substance, and of criminal attempt to obtain a controlled substance by forgery and alteration constituted “serious crimes” as defined by C.R.C.P. 241.16 (e). People v. Moore, 849 P.2d 40 (Colo. 1993).

Criminal provisions not overlapping. Section 12-22-126 and former § 12-22-319 (now this section) do not proscribe the same conduct and, hence, do not violate the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. People v. Wellington, 633 P.2d 1390 (Colo. 1981); People v. Caponey, 647 P.2d 668 (Colo. 1982).

The exception in subsection (1)(b) applies to a physician's original prescription order when defendant altered the order for fraudulent purposes, even though a prescription order is considered a medical record for other purposes. People v. Moon, 2015 COA 23 , 411 P.3d 130.

Applied in People v. Madonna, 651 P.2d 378 (Colo. 1982); People v. Frayer, 661 P.2d 1198 (Colo. App. 1982).