Being arrested can be one of the most stressful situations you will ever face in your life, especially the booking process. You will feel more anxious if you need to take your prescribed medications at a scheduled time. It will add to your stress just thinking if you can have your medicine while waiting for the booking process to finish.
We have listed some of the things that you can expect when you have prescribed medication to take during the booking process, so you will know what to do in the given situation.
What to Expect
Once you are arrested, you can expect some events will happen as the booking process commence.
Confiscation of Medication
The police will get your personal information such as your name and physical attributes to begin the booking process. Every important detail about your arrest will be recorded as well as your background check, your photo, and they will also scan your fingerprints.
They will then confiscate any personal things you carry with you, including your prescribed medications. They should provide you with a receipt of your property to ensure that your valuables will be given back to you when you get out of jail.
Examination by a Medical Professional
Some states require every defendant to go through a medical exam run by a medical professional to check for any medical and mental condition. However, these exams may not happen immediately after booking. It can occur after days of your arrest.
What to Do If You Need Prescription Medication
If you will need to take certain medications, but the police confiscate them, consider the following tips to help you.
Disclose Your Condition
You should tell anyone in authority about your condition, whether it’s the police or medical personnel. It is crucial that they keep this in your police records as well as for your health, so don’t keep it a secret. This should be recorded in your Medical Treatment of Prisoner form that should be with you in the entire booking process.
Bring Your Medication
When you are aware that you will be arrested, you should never forget to bring your medication with you. Although the authority will have to confiscate it, they will record the details in your Medical Treatment of Prisoner form once they have it on hand. You should ask a family or a friend to bring it to you if you don’t have it with you.
Assert Your Rights
These tips can be helpful to get your medication faster after the booking process has been completed. But if you’re still being processed and you feel something wrong in your body, you should assert your right to be treated for your medical condition. If necessary, you should be taken to the hospital or emergency room to attend to your medical needs at once.
Get Out Fast
More than anything else, it is essential that you get out of jail as fast as you can to avoid aggravating your medical condition. Call a bail bonds company to assist you in expediting the process.