# Question regarding minors and prescription drugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426 "2005-09-26T02:41:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/1 "2005-09-26T02:41:51Z")
OK now say i get a prescription, and i am 17. Now even though i am a minor the prescription is still in my name. Now say if my mother tries to take my prescription away from me so she herself could regulate my intake since she thinks i am not responsible, is that legal? Its like her opening my mail which i believe would be a felony, i know this is almost off topic but want to know the answer to this ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/2 "2005-09-26T02:51:43Z")
Yes, your mother can take away just about anything she wants from you. That is why you are called a minor. Now, there are certain limits of course. Your mother could conceivably get into trouble if she took some life-saving medication away and wouldn’t let you have it at all. Just taking it away to regulate it shouldn’t be a problem though. Would you object if you heard that a mother did this to her 7 year old? Legally speaking there aren’t a whole lot of differences in this regard between you and a 7 year old. Good news is that in less than a year you hit that magic number and you could have her arrested for theft. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/3 "2005-09-26T03:10:23Z")
Actually the number is more like 4 months. I had just had surgery done. And got prescribed Vicodin, now i know people abuse this stuff but it makes me feel like my mother doesn’t trust me. Needless to say we got into an argument about it and i threw them down the sink just to prove that i didnt want/need them. The whole point of it is that they were MINE and should be in MY room. If i wanted to abuse a drug i could, i could probably get most drugs faster then i could get that prescription filled. Its a sad world ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/4 "2005-09-26T03:11:27Z")
Another quetions is that this still wouldnt apply to any mail correct? What about my car, the pink slip is in my name but could she still ‘take it away’ from me? ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/5 "2005-09-26T16:33:54Z")
> [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > Another quetions is that this still wouldnt apply to any mail correct? What about my car, the pink slip is in my name but could she still ‘take it away’ from me? Until you are 18, yes it does, IMHO. After you’re 18, it depends. If you’re still living in your mother’s house, especially if you’re not paying rent, it would behoove you to work out an accommodation rather than obsessing with your “legal rights.” Demonstrate how responsible you are in all ways. Do your share of the various tasks that need to be done at home. Did you pay for the car with your own earnings? How about gas and maintenance? Who does your laundry? Prepares your meals? Cleans your bedroom and bathroom? Pays your medical bills? Buys your clothes? It’s natural at your age to want to separate yourself from your parents – it’s a process called “individuation” and is quite healthy. You get to decide right now whether that process will go smoothly and with mutual benefit or whether it will be filled with angst and unnecessary conflict. ---
**Author:** ![czygabe77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e495f1/32.png) [@czygabe77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/czygabe77)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/6 "2005-09-27T07:56:24Z")
two weeks on vicodin or percoset can lead to abuse, denial and withdrawal. when you are addicted you dont want to hear sound advice instead you beleive the cure is helping when it can be hurting. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/7 "2005-09-27T08:11:25Z")
> [@czygabe77](#): > > two weeks on vicodin or percoset can lead to abuse, denial and withdrawal. when you are addicted you dont want to hear sound advice instead you beleive the cure is helping when it can be hurting. I think s/he means four months until s/he turns 18. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-regarding-minors-and-prescription-drugs/323426/8 "2005-09-27T16:22:48Z")
According to[HIPAA](http://www.hipaadvisory.com/regs/finalprivacymod/greps.htm), there are exceptions to your parents’ right to make healthcare decisions for you, depending on the state in which you live. > [@](#): > > The Privacy Rule specifies three circumstances in which the parent is not the “personal representative” with respect to certain health information about his or her minor child. These exceptions generally track the ability of certain minors to obtain specified health care without parental consent under State or other laws, or standards of professional practice. In these situations, the parent does not control the minor’s health care decisions, and thus under the Rule, does not control the protected health information related to that care. I don’t see how any state is going to prevent your mother from acting as your personal representative in the matter, though. In fact, I’d bet that if your mom told your doctor that she was **not** acting as your representative, you would never get another prescription for Vicodin. The doctor is probably relying on your mother to monitor your use.