Why You Shouldn't Carry Prescription Pills in Unmarked Containers

What's in that Drug Vial, Ma'am?

Everybody who takes prescription medication does this, right? After being on something for while, you start to accumulate empty vials. And if you're like many people who need to take prescription medication, you don't stay home all day. Perhaps there's a pill you take at lunch, and another at three, and you don't want to drag around the gigantic bottle containing your entire month's supply of whatever, subjecting it to temperature extremes, theft or accidental loss. So you strip off the sticky labels from your empties and use them to transport only what you'll need to take during your outing.

But if you ever get pulled over by the police, a routine traffic stop could turn into a very sticky situation. Including a hefty fine or more, depending on the state in which you reside (or are stopped).

Because transferring your meds out of their original containers is not just one of those "common sense safety" recommendations you see posted in the drug store or listed in articles in magazines about keeping kids out of your medications.

In many states, it's the law.

I found this out because late one Saturday night a State Trooper told me so. My husband and I were traveling home from a night out with another couple. We'd gone back to their house for dessert, a potent rum cake, and we joked as we parted that if we were pulled over, we'd never pass the Breathalyzer.

Ironically, we were pulled over for something else. It was some minor violation on the body of my car, but enough for the Trooper to wave us to the side of the road. He asked for my husband's license and registration (since he was driving) and peppered him with the usual battery of questions designed to determine if he'd been drinking. Nothing there. My spouse was as sober as a judge (well, not including the judge from the Anna Nicole Smith trial).

Then the Trooper waved his flashlight toward the back seat of my car.

"What's in that drug vial?" he asked.