In New York state, the following are considered forgery in the second degree, a class D felony, which can carry a prison sentence of 1-1/3 to 7 years: writing an illegitimate prescription with either a stolen prescription pad or a forged prescription pad; altering the dosage, drug strength, drug quantity, refill quantity, or dispense date of a legitimately written prescription: An alleged suspect will face an additional charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, also a class D felony if the following occurs: a forged prescription passes, the pharmacy fills it, the prescription was for a controlled substance. An alleged suspect could face a charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony with a sentence of 3 to 5 years (with no prior record) and a maximum sentence of 25 years (with priors) for the following: the suspect intended to sell the controlled substance obtained with a forged prescription.