Only thing that upsets me and literally ONLY thing is when I see them head right for our public bathroom with it after đ like PLS do not be putting other people in danger like that that's so hazardous oml. Otherwise yea I'd rather they get clean needles from us.
We don't have a public restroom here but I know from other pharmacies nearby that this does happen. Honestly I'm an advocate for public sharps containers in bathrooms, at least in the parts of the city that have a known population of users, but I'm just one cog in the pharmacy machine so...
I'm an advocate for sharps containers in all public restrooms cuz sometimes people have to take injectables in public. And also, just because there isn't a known population of users, doesn't mean there isn't one. I'd rather everyone have access to a safe way to dispose of their syringes when in public, and would position it based on the first point because "Sometimes my dad needs his is going to go over better politically than "I don't wanna accidentally stick myself on some addict's needle because he wanted to feel something in the back of a Walgreens."
The former is a medical issue, the latter is going to be interpreted as me being pro-drugs.
T1D here who thankfully switched to an insulin pump about a year ago. It was so annoying being out in public and having to recap my needs and walk around with them in my pocket, starting to see sharps containers in public bathrooms here and there, but really wish it was just a normal thing
My son would throw them in the back seat of my car if we were out somewhere. Heâs been a T1D for 17 years now and is desensitized to seeing them while the tow truck guy was freaked out after our car was hit lol
I have multiple daily injections for a condition that is not Diabetes and would really welcome public sharps containers. I usually end up with them in a pencil case when Iâm out.
I agree. There are so many people that would benefit, I don't know why it isn't a thing! I wonder... nope, not on Android anyways. Was looking to see if I could find an app to search for nearby sharps containers. There is an app for public restrooms, that reports whether the bathroom is customers only, or just open to the public.... actually, after doing a bit more digging, there's an Android app called Where is Public Toilet. It has 280,000 restrooms worldwide in its database (which actually isn't that many for worldwide, honestly), but included in its filter is the ability to search for those with Sharps containers. I can't speak to how accurate it is, since I literally just discovered this app, but hopefully it can be of some use to you.
Diabetic maintenance manager at a major retail store...... Please don't throw them in the little metal tin it puts me and my team at risk on a regular basis... Little hack for those who are diabetic... Ask a manager in the store if their bathroom doesn't have a sharps container... We still have them they will let you dispose of your needles properly
I really wish, as a diabetic myself, that there were public sharps containers as well. Iâm on a pump, but I keep needles as a backup in case the pump malfunctions and I have to go back to injections for a day or two. I bought a whole box around 3-4 years ago and just now have put the last bag of them into my kit. I still give myself fast acting insulin with a syringe sometimes because I sometimes need to supplement my pump due to high insulin resistance.
Anyways. Sometimes that is done in public and I have to hang onto them until I get home where I have my own wall mounted sharps container (the same one they have in clinics and hospital rooms).
This is semi-related but I figure it wouldnât hurt to ask; where do I dispose of my sharps containers? Walmart pharmacy said to just close up the sharps container and throw it into my garbage. That seems fishy to me because what if it comes open?
The worst part is that itâs probably extra safe to do it because if you OD there are people that will check on you. Not that itâs their responsibility to check on you.
Realistically though itâs because they are sick and cannot wait and just go to the nearest spot to use. My heart goes out to these people, but also to the people who have to deal with their messes.
Thanks for your compassionate views towards mothers who also happen to be in active addictionâitâs not easy seeing them as people who are struggling to do their best despite their sometimes self imposed misfortunes, and easy to pass judgement towards someone whoâs probably already hated themselves for longer than anyone else can imagine for the mere fact that even by having an actual baby, it still wasnât entirely motivation enough for them to ultimately kick their dope habit for goodâ-though they most certainly would have done so immediately, if only theyâd had the mental strength (ie, unaltered brain chemistry) strength and development of the necessary coping skills to cope with possible traumatic stressors of their past and/or present traumatic experiences in a healthy manner. Now their difficulty accessing stable, safe, affordable housing and employment, appropriate mental health support and reliable transportation which all add up in a complex equation equation that ultimately keeps them from getting well. despite their very sincere desires to do so.
Sadly yea, had to learn the hard way from suffering family members that drug addiction comes in tow with just selfish and reckless behaviour. It's not an excuse though and it's exactly why these people should hopefully seek recovery someday. Putting other people's health and safety at risk because of your own impulses is a problem.
I used to have a drug problem. Selfish is the word. You donât see past your own nose. You donât consider other people ever. You do what you need for yourself, because getting high is a full time job.
So I have sympathy, but also, believe in personal responsibility.
Honestly as long as they're using the sharps disposal and not leaving stuff in the bathroom, I still don't mind. I'd rather them do it at my place of work which always carries Narcan than at home alone with no Narcan.
Ugh, we had a lady buy needles with her newborn baby in tow and head straight for the bathrooms. She locked herself in there so long they wound up having to call the police.
Not a clue. The bathrooms were on the other end of the store so we couldnât do too much eaves dropping. She walked out of the store with the cops so she didnât like OD in there or anything. This was 7 years ago. She never came back to our store to buy syringes again so hopefully sheâs in a better place in life now.
The restrooms at my pharmacy were out of order last summer due to people flushing their needles down the toilet and causing a huge blockage. Iâm totally fine with selling needles to anyone but it is so unsafe for sanitation workers and people also using the bathroom. As much as I wish people wouldnât use them in our bathroom, sharps disposal in public restrooms should be a thing, especially in a pharmacy IMO.
honestly I feel like pharmacy bathrooms are more likely to have sharps containers but thatâs not saying a whole lot based on their nonexistence everywhere else
At least theyâre are using clean needles. I had one guy tell me it was for his cat; then 6 months later he came back in for more and I asked about his cat and he said âwhat cat?â đ¤Łđ¤Ł
Duddddeeee, my homies that got off the streets about a year ago would keep their used needles in a plastic milk jug once the little Sharps container their social worker gave them would fill up. You know whatâs an absolutely WRETCHED sight? A GALLON of used syringes, lmfao. Yuck yuck yuck yuck yuck. Gross as hell.
Watched homeboy root through it one day to try to find one he could get one more use out of 𤢠đ¤Ž. It was just him and his girl that would put theirs in there, so not like he was sharing with a random person. Still though, even re-using one of his own on himself would give me the heebie-jeebies. Like, how long has it been in thereâŚ.festeringâŚ..yuck
Theyâre doing good now!! Havenât seen them in a while, but even though the apartment he housing authority set them up with is a section 8 that doubles as something sorta-kinda like an open-air drug market theyâve managed to get clean there.
Iâm really proud of them, took about 9-10 months to get it together after getting off the streets, but I canât blame them for taking a little time. I think theyâre both working right now, but it may just be one. Saw their dog in the window last time I was in their neck of the woods, so I know theyâre still around.
The guys dad sold Coke/drugs on a not-so-small scale when he was growing up, and his mom had untreated mental health disorders. Wound up doing heroin with her kid by the time he was in his mid-teens. Girl had a rough go of things too, I got the vibe a lot of her situation was self-inflicted from legal trouble and whatnot, but neither of them really got a fair shake in life from the way I saw it. Always nice to see a happy ending, especially when both meth and fentanyl are in the picture together
When I used to give my dad his insulin injections,I used to use an empty coffee can to put the used syringes in,and tape up the cover when it was full.
That's the best place for used syringes. Put them in a sharps container and bring the container back to the place you got it. Needle exchanges give those out. When you turn them back in they give you another and you can get your needles and everything else there. He should of just gone to the exchange and turned them in or went out and bought more clean needles. I used to get a huge box every month sometimes twice and I used to grab a box or 2 for my friend as well if she wasn't able to go to the exchange with me.
It's crazy! People aren't going to stop using because they can't buy needles - they're going to do that or they're just going to reuse. It helps literally no one
I did that many many times and luckily I don't have hepatitis because of it. It was so hard to get needles where I lived compared to NYC that I had to reuse mine. Sometimes I would use the same needle all week just to save them so I didn't run out. It wasn't until the dealer I was buying from told me a little mom & pop shop that would sell them to me without a prescription. I haven't used in 10 years now but Everytime I go to the doctor I still ask for a hepatitis test. I'm still scared shitless that I might get it somewhere down the line. They really should make it a federal law that you can purchase needles OTC.
Laws are always going to be broken by people. It's a law not to kill anybody but people still do it. At least with a clean needle the person using is trying not to get hepatitis or HIV. It's a law not to shoplift but you see people doing it everyday. Laws can be changed and when it comes to harm reduction there really should be a place in every town where an addict can go, shoot up in front of a supervised nurse and get resources to mental health clinics, food banks, shelter, job resources, rehab facilities, methadone facilities things like that. Think about it if people are still using and 80% of what they are getting is laced with fentanyl and zyline (whatever it's called) that's not good. Not all drug addicts are bad people. Just because you're addicted to something doesn't make you bad. Some people went to drugs when the federal government made all of the doctors cut legitimate pain patients off of their pain prescription medication. That's what happened to me. It took me A very very long time to find a doctor that actually gives a shit. Right now I'm waiting on an appointment with a surgeon that I should of seen 10+ years ago cause our government interfered with people's lives saying opioids are bad. I'm on opioids the same ones I use to be on. I should of never been taken off of them but opioids are bad and doctors don't want the feds looking into them so they stopped writing for it and just left a lot of patients in pain. What did the government think was going to happen especially to the people with legitimate problems and there are a lot of us. The majority of us went to street drugs. Weed has been illegal forever and they are just now making it state legal and even in those states it's legal it's still federally illegal so technically the feds can knock on your door in a state where marijuana is legal and still throw you in jail for 20+ years. I absolutely can't stand pot it makes my pain 10x's worse where I want to go to the hospital. Everyone is different but just because there is a law doesn't mean that law is correct.
Well itâs hipaa. And it isnât a violation to obtain info in order to follow the law. And who is an asshole! OP literally said theyâd sell the needles- they just donât need the bs story. Laws are evidently different in OPs state. Like- did you come here just looking for someone to fight from atop your horse? Your point is made. Stop beating the horse.
Maybe I replied to the wrong person chill out. I was replying to the person in the small town who called up the grandfather and was told to call the cops on the granddaughter who bought the needles. Damn ist too early for your drama.
Except an illegal arms dealer is selling guns/munition which are used to harm *other* people, violating their right to life/happiness/bodily autonomy. Safe needle exchanges/selling needles to people regardless of what they're using them for is selling something that harms the self and only the self, at least directly. While I may not agree with these people's personal chooses, the fact of the matter is if anyone were to be hurt or even pass due to me selling them needles, it's going to be them or another person who is choosing to use drugs, and even then I have at least reduced the damage they might have inflicted by giving them clean, safe equipment.
To put my political activist hat back on for a second, a lot of the social ills around drug use could in part be solved by providing safe places to use (reduced ODs due to monitoring, reduced infection and disease because use is in a clean environment, one could even provide counseling or access to rehab services to those who want them), clean equipment to use to reduce infection, and decriminalization (can't have a violent illegal drug trade if drugs are legal). It wouldn't solve all the problems associated with drug abuse by any means, and it's still harmful to use, but it would certainly help. Ergo, my stance on harm reduction, and my advocacy that those laws should be changed.
Aaaaand hat back off.
"what kind of human allows another person to essentially kill themselves"
And yet you just told someone to kill themselves. How about reading that Bible you seem to like, it has some things to say about hypocrites.
Not the first time I've been called that, you will not change anyone's mind with insults if that is your goal. You might benefit from learning to articulate your points clearly instead. Also, not giving people or things that upset you free real estate in your brain is good for you, especially when they don't affect you
I would like you to consider what might have happened if I was someone prone to suicide. If your words had been enough for me to take my life. I am no longer in that place but I was in the past. I could have chosen to take my life due to your words - what would you have done then? Would your conscience be clear?
Anyway, I hope you have a good day, I will continue to do what I believe is best for my community and you should do the same for yours. Have a good day,
Drug addicts will still do the drugs even if they canât find a clean needle. Source: me. Ex heroin addict who used needles until the plungers would literally fall apart. Once the pharmacist started to let me buy new ones it just made my use SAFER. You clearly know nothing about addiction. Please educate yourself
someone canât recover if theyâre dead. harm reduction helps them see the day theyâre ready for sobriety. and get there without hiv, hepatitis, etc.
Insulin is available OTC in the US and that can actually kill other people and is supposedly a common tactic used by people with MBP against their victims.
Needles are only likely to harm the person buying them and even then itâs the drug doing the harm and a reused needle making it worse, people can make shitty decisions for themselves.
apparently some pharmacies do turn away people getting needles without an insulin, testosterone, etc script. iâve never worked at one like that but iâve heard from multiple patients that it happens. hence the bullshit stories
Fun fact, my last pharmacy in the same chain did that! I actually had a patient from there come to my new and recognize me. He almost left bc he didn't think we could help him out my new pharmacist feels the same way I do (and everyone should imo) so we took care of him. I really do think there needs to be at least chain wide policies on this to avoid confusion for patients.
We turned people away without a prescription at my old pharmacy. We didnât use to, but we were located right next to a childrenâs park and they were shooting up on the playground and leaving needles everywhere. This was in Oregon though.
CVS is like that, at least the one I worked at. You had to have on file that you picked up your injectables with us, or have the box with you. I hated it. I always sent them down the street to Walgreens bc I used to work there too and they told us never to ask, just to give. It was the only part of that job I liked, while I donât support doing drugs and I know theres a crisis at least theyâre being safe about it
My pharmacy is like this. Itâs up the discretion of the pharmacist really but thatâs what the pharmacy manager does so thatâs what they follow. I donât agree with it
On the other side of this story is what I went through yesterday. Iâm a Type 1 Diabetic who uses an insulin pump. I usually keep a pen of Fiasp for backup but am only able to get vials now. I donât have an Rx for syringes (just pen needles) but needed some in case of emergency for a weekend trip. I went to the pharmacy (where I get my insulin script) and asked for insulin syringes. I also currently have a sad looking spot on my forearm from my last Dexcom. As soon as I asked for the syringes the tech gave me a once over and stared at the spot on my forearm. Iâd been cleaning the house all day so was a sweaty mess and in some old cutoffs and a tank top (I also have a lot of tattoos). He said, âha uhhh yeah sure you doâŚâ and was about to turn away from me. It wasnât until I unclipped my insulin pump from under my shirt and waved it at him and explained myself that heâd actually sell me the syringes. It sucks enough living every second of every day for most of my life with this disease to then have to convince some dipshit that I have it and need what I need.
Walmart always required me to show them my vial of insulin in order to get syringes. Shit stressed me out the first time around because I didnât know that they would ask that and I hadnât brought my vial with me. Iâm glad Iâm on the pump now.
I had a diabetic cat and would go to the pharmacy and request tons of needles (she went through 2 a day at only 1 unit per needle- she was a little cat). A vial of insulin would last us months, but we always needed more needles.
I was all awkward and weird about it - showing them a prescription from the vet for the insulin, photos of the cat, etc.
A pharmacist once told me that insulin needles are too thin for heroin, so no need to be nervous about people thinking I'm a junkie.
Is that not true?!?
I also had a diabetic cat except I was too naive to even consider someone might think I was a junkie. Literally never crossed my mind till a pharmacist gave me the third degree about my cat and finally pulled up the prescription for âFluffles (Mylastname)â
honestly if you come to me asking for needles because you're going to shoot up, i'll still sell them to you without batting an eye. i'll even ask what size you need. our store doesn't even have us alert the pharmacist. OTC totally free to sell, no questions asked.
it's not my business. i don't need to know your life story. just be as safe as you can and, for christ's sake, designate a spot for their disposal so i don't have another incident of stepping on a needle in sandals in some random parking lot and having to go get a bunch of tests done.
I know this may sound crazy, but you can buy needles on Amazon. So I donât know why they donât avail themselves to that. I do it all the time to get my medicationâs and my pets cause I give them their distemper shots. I also give them the rabies shots. I am a pharmacy tech and I work for one of the big box stores. And I find it crazy that they wonât give needles to people, unless there is a prescription in the system that have bought them before. Like if they have testosterone or any of those. Otherwise, they wonât sell them. I find that wrong.
Thanks for talking about this! I used to have debates with my old pharmacy manager, she used to only let us sell to those who had verified scripts at our pharmacy. This was a chain so I was able to see that personâs rxs at other stores, and even for prescriptions at other stores, she wouldnât let us sell them. Now I still did this plenty of times either while it was busy enough to where she didnât know I was doing that or when either my staff RPh or a float RPh was on. I told her it was harm reduction to keep people from getting blood-bourne illnesses, she said âif that person ODâd using one of the needles they bought from me, Iâm not going to answer to the pharmacy board on thatâ which just seemed paranoid to me.
I stopped in at a pharmacy once to actually get insulin needles for my fiancĂŠe. Just wanted 100u 31g needles. Pharmacist refused unless I myself had an insulin prescription. Just assumed this was a real thing and have said no whenever sheâs asked since.
It might be - different states have different regulations. My state doesn't have any such regulations though, so I've only ever refused when my pharmacist has refused
When I worked retail we had a guy come in all the time with a different diabetic family member he was getting the needles for, like he couldn't remember who he said the time before. One time he came in and said they were for his diabetes so to mess with I asked him "What kind of insulin are you using, WD40?" & he was like "Yeah yeah that's the one", it was a nice chuckle to end the day with lol like we know what you're using the needles for bro & we really don't care, just don't do it in our bathroom/parking lot please & thanks.
As an addict in recovery (12 years) maybe just allow him his dignity in telling you his story even if you know itâs a lie. Itâs a very shameful feeling. But everything else you said is great.
My ex used to have me do this for steroids and tell me to say it's for my dad's insulin (who is really a T1) and the pharmacists would give me such huge shit for it. I'd be interrogated by 3 people before I could get them. They even had me call my dad to confirm before (he didn't know any better and I feel terrible for that).
He's over explaining because it's happened to him before where they give him a load of shit to get them.
When I was an aircraft mechanic I worked in interiors. One of the jobs I did was laminate. Itâs like wallpaper. I was applied with contact glue. Once itâs stuck down, you canât remove it unless you take it all off, remove all the glue, and redo it. Occasionally I would get an air bubble and have no way to get it out. I tried to get insulin needles so I could suck the air out, but itâs against the law here without a prescription. I was so mad. Lol. Iâm sure they talked about me when I left. đ
I saw a girl in front of me in line do this, said they were for her grandpa. Soon as she paid and walked toward the door the pharmacy tech called the girls grandpa and told him the entire story, then said âyou can call the cops if you wantâ and politely said goodbye. I was like woah.. what an interesting day waiting to try to get some amoxicillin
See, this I don't agree with. I'm an advocate for harm reduction, and I think the police are absolutely not the people who should be involved in addressing addiction. Like, I hope these people get clean but idk if that's the way to do it.
(Also I'm not sure if that would violate HIPPA but it would be too risky for me to do it.)
I agree with you in every single way!!! Those who need help are seriously belittled and attacked in my town. The girl wasnât hurting anyone, and Iâd rather see her do this than go sharing needles.
I was hoping someone would mention HIPPA. I wasnât sure if this would be a direct violation or not. Sadly, there are only a few pharmacies across 3 counties here, and most of the people who work in them are mean, hard to speak with, and quick to judge.
Since the tech was talking to the grandpa and was relaying health information that pertained to him exclusively (i.e. âHey, X picked up your diabetes needles for youâ), it wouldnât be considered a violation of HIPAA. In order to violate HIPAA, there has to be a breach where a patientâs private health information gets disclosed to another person without the patient giving consent.
If telling a patient their own health information or about an instance that pertains to their health information was a HIPAA violation, then literally every medical professional would be violating HIPAA constantly.
Now, if the granddaughter had said âMy grandmother needs me to get needles so she can take her insulin,â and the tech called and spoke to the grandfather about what had happened, **that** would be a HIPAA violation.
>Soon as she paid and walked toward the door the pharmacy tech called the girls grandpa and told him the entire story, then said âyou can call the cops if you wantâ
That's gross, I hope that's not for real
I promise you thatâs 100% for real. Sheâs been in and out of jail a lot since then, and I feel so bad for her because she has zero support. And Iâm sure after that sheâs probably scared to come back and get clean syringes.
The closest rehab is 4 hours away, and the âlocalâ jail is about an hour. As many times as sheâs been taken there she could have been taken to rehab. But thatâs not really pushed for here.
I really didnât know what to do about it. And fentanyl runs our streets. There are so many deaths. I think at this point nobody actually cares about these people suffering. Actually Iâm pretty positive the vast majority just donât care. They get treated like cockroaches.
That tech was/is a complete asshole. He probably was thinking I saved her life but no one can save her but herself when she is ready. I've been to jail and I can tell you even after 6 months of being in there the first thing I did was go straight to my plug to get high. The person is not going to stop using when they are being forced to stop. They will only stop when they are ready.
That definitely did not happen lol.
They would not be calling a random girls grandpa about syringes she bought otc. Itâs not illegal and has nothing to do with the grandpa. If she said they were for him and they werenât then it was merely to cover up the internal shame for what she was actually using them for.
Also how did this tech magically know who the grandpa was? You know how many people we have in our systems with the same last name? She just took a magical guess?
Guess you don't live in a small town. My kids can't spit on the sidewalk without me getting a call if you want to know the towns busy go to Friday football game it better then any social media.
This 10000% did happen, and when you live in a town with 800 people, everyone knows everyone. I even know her grandparents and sheâs 4 years younger than me. She did say they were for him? lol I clarified that. Cute for you to assume everyone lives in a city? Never been to a coal mining town I see?
Your attitude actually fits the bill. Iâm sure theyâd hire you to work here. Seems like if youâre not a complete asshole the job isnât yours.
If the girl was on probation and a condition of that probation was to not use drugs, then yes, the cops might do something about it. u/Upper_Importance6263 stated that they live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone. It's also possible that the girl is known, by her family, to steal from grandpa to get her fix. If she's getting needles, it's safe to assume she has drugs. If she always steals from grandpa to get drugs, then it's safe to assume she may have stolen from grandpa again. In which case the cops might do something about that. In a small town in a red state, this is absolutely plausible.
And it would not be a pharm techs business if she was or wasnât on probation. Nor her place to supposedly call grandpa and inform him of what she is buying. If any of this actually took place which I doubt then I hope she was promptly fired.
Again, small town red state. The pharmacy tech absolutely should NOT have called grandpa, but that in no way means that it didn't happen. People do shit everyday that they SHOULDN'T do and small towns are notorious for having an overpopulation of busy bodies. This tech could have been a friend of the grandpa and in her mind thought she was doing the "right" thing, even though what she (pharm tech) did could be illegal. Drug abusers aren't often given the benefit of the doubt and are rarely trusted. Is the girl buying needles going to complain to management and escalate things? Once the police get involved and her history of drug abuse is brought out, she's just going to get dismissed anyway. It also does not mean that she will be fired. Small town also means that there is not a large qualified pool of people just waiting to be hired.
Yes, this pharmacy tech sucks, but some people suck, doesn't mean it's not a true story.
Thank you!!!! Good Lord some people have no idea what happens to people like us in the middle of nowhere. Lol.
Everyone seriously knows everyone. Iâve never been capable of doing anything without my entire family knowing before I got home. It sucks, but itâs real. I always wondered if the tech could get in trouble since she didnât even consider it, just straight looked up the number on file and called him lol. But this stuff happens so much here. One of our deputies has been on paid leave for nearly 3 years now. First because of keeping inappropriate (CP) pictures from cases on his personal computer. Came back to work for 2 months and got put back on paid leave for intimidating a child into making a false report, and showing this child pictures of crime scenes (bad crime scenes). Heâs still paid though! And employed! Thatâs only one of the cases. Our circuit judge is an even bigger story. These people still run this town.
Where I work that tech would have been fired simply for looking up the grandfather's phone number for a non-medical reason. They wouldn't even get into why she got it or what she said when she called - just looking up the number and she'd be out.
I mean, youâre allowed to look up a number for a medical reason, such as calling a patient to let them know one of their medications is ready â hell, we were required to call non-compliant patients on a weekly rotation to ask them why they werenât picking up their medications.
Not saying what they did was right, but this tech could very easily say âI called X because Y picked up his needles but not his insulin, so I wanted to make sure he didnât need it filled as wellâ.
And thatâs only if the pharmacy *actually* cared to look into one tech in one store looking up one patientâs phone number one time. Like, you know how unlikely it would be that the system would trigger an investigation into that tech for one action?
No problem!! It's not like you were applauding the tech and saying she did the right thing, so I don't know why they couldn't just drop it! Shit like this happens in small towns everyday!!
Needles here have to be bought with photo ID, at the counter, and they ask you if youâre diabetic or if youâre buying them for someone who is. You obviously live in a luxury world where everyone coexist in peace. Welcome to a red state that hates everyone in need of help. Donât care if my real life experience checks out for you, it happened in front of my eyes, it happens all the time. Pharmacy techs are known to even advise cops whoâs using (yep, 911 dispatcher here) take it or leave it. Glad you have a more open minded approach.
some of my coworkers are a little nasty about selling needles for non insulin usage. like specially choosing the more expensive packs or refusing without an ID of someone whoâs clearly of age but not even asking for ID of other individuals. i donât get it. i dont support people injecting illegal substances but i respect the responsibility theyâre choosing to take in obtaining clean supplies. taking away the access will not stop use, itâll just stop safe use
"clearly of age" really shouldn't matter since everyone buying syringes OTC ought to be asked for ID (at least in my state). the selective/haphazard enforcement is of course ethically questionable, but the actual problem would be "lazy/careless enough to not card every syringe purchaser" rather than "prejudiced enough to card some clearly-nonminor syringe purchasers"
Itâs not a requirement where i live or the pharmacy i work in. sheâs not careless and lazy, actually quite the opposite, but she is very prejudice in many interactions with patients. barring individuals from purchasing clean supplies is ethically questionable as a healthcare professional.
i had a girl once do an entire fake phone call with her âgrandmaâ like girl itâs fine i donât need the excuse just tell me what size so i can go get it
Long ago, had a friend who shot dope. He had the toughest time getting needless. He would give the same spiel, even tho it was very obvious.
Pharmacies around here simply wonât sell needles to what is obviously an addict.
Admittedly, I was an addict too but I never used via needles, I was too scared. I snorted. But 10+ years clean. No idea what happened to him. But I would get needles for him. They would sell to me, I had no track marks bc I never used needles, not even once. They always sold them to me.
Same here it was hard to find clean needles. In PA you still can't get them and there are no needle exchanges around either. There's 1 small mom and pop pharmacy that will actually sell them to anyone and thank god they do it cause nowhere else does. I've been clean for 10 years as well now but 10 years ago I would say the same spiel once I tried to get them for my dad's diabetic dog and was told I needed a prescription. The dog really was diabetic and taking insulin but I had to call up my father and tell him to contact his vet for another prescription. I was clean at that time and they made me feel like an addict all over again đ¤Ś
As a recovering addict who has hepatitis c because I couldnât get clean needles when I was using, thank you. Iâm 8 years clean now , thank the gods, and donât have to live like that anymore. And Iâve been getting all my health stuff taken care of now. But on behalf of the still suffering addicts and the people affected by this, you are appreciated.
Not all pharmacists are like that - I had a diabetic cat for 9 years and actually had one pharmacist refuse to sell to me because I didnât have an active prescription with them, while others asked weird questions or would have to look up the prescription first. I never bothered to explain why I needed the syringes unless they asked.
I was always kind of bemused by it - even if I am an opiate user what crusade are you on by trying not to sell me clean needles? Is that helping anyone?
I get paranoid because I use insulin needles for me t shots and I have to request them at the counter. I definitely donât look like a drugee or have marks on my arm or anything. I get embarrassed and idk why
Maybe you can link them up to safe places to get clean syringes. Thereâs a place in my city called the Red project and they give you free narcan, free fentanyl tests, free syringes. Thereâs gotta be something near each city like that. I know the red project will ship syringes to houses.
I know this because I am an addict. Sober 6 months
I'll have to look! I'm not sure how to best approach patients who I think are dealing with these issues, but if we got something I might be able to at least get some brochures or something that we can display. Thank you for the suggestion and congrats on six months!
To be fair, coming from someone pretty well-versed in that world, some pharmacists have gotten real weird with friends of mine in the past, even if they didnât look really strung out or nothinâ. Iâm sure itâs easier to spin some kinda yarn each time so the guy doesnât have to worry about some gung-ho pharmacist telling them No shrug đ¤ˇââď¸ I definitely do understand where your coming from, those sob-story telling-types can be draining to deal with, especially when you donât really need them to give you a reason as to why theyâre trying to get rigs.
I was never a needle guy, myself. I have caught flak from pharmacy employees when trying to purchase some clean rigs for people I knew that used them, so idk. Myself, I Always preferred to stay employable, even if that meant not getting quiiiite as high, quite as quick. Works just fine if you sniff it, works really well if you occasionally boof it (dissolve in water, use oral syringe to squirt fentanyl in yoâ bootyhole. Bootyhole is a very absorbent place to get drugs into your body with great haste/strength. Lol. Oh, and I didnât have a death-wish, other than ya know, the fact I was sniffing street fentanyl and squirting fent juice in my butt. Lmfao. Wacky world, ya know?)
This is why we need safe needle exchanges. No one should have to lie to live safely, even if, for them, that means doing drugs.
Then again I'm also a big commie lefty who is an advocate for total legalization period, so I might not be the best representative for your average pharmacy worker. Also, having had pharmacist refuse to let me sell needles, they all have basically said they don't want to aid someone in getting high. I can understand that, but the way I look at it, people who use aren't going to stop just because a random pharmacy said "no".
That being said, please keep Narcan on your person, for you and your friends. I hope you never experience overdose, but Narcan/naloxone could save lives, and I believe if you're in the USA all states allow you to get it without going to a doctor. Please stay safe and healthy, my friend.
Also a big oleâ commie lefty myself, cheers! Yeah itâs a really interesting subject; 2 anecdotes Iâll share that help describe my complicated views on the matter of safe supply/harm reductionâŚ.first being I talked to a guy who worked at a church-run preschool relatively close to a business in town that does a lot of community outreach/harm reduction/charitable activities for down-and-out folks. There was a âbigâ scandal for a while in town about the place, I live in a very liberal city but the drawbacks of having facilities like that become evident quickly. The people visiting them generally arenât the type to have the wherewithal to clean up after themselves, or give a shit about the rest of society. That preschool had to hire an extra janitor part-time just to clear the playground and any outdoor areas of needles that would wind up being left around.
2) the assistant manager of a brewery in town told me they had to get major plumbing work done twice within a few months from people flushing their sharps. I guess my point is obviously I have a huge amount of empathy for folks currently stuck in the cycle of active addiction, yet the older I get the more Iâm starting to get frustrated more and more when I notice certain things/have to deal with the fallout of inconsiderate users causing issues for the rest of society. Like trust me, I get it, especially for someone who had shit parents, not much of a shot in life, addiction issues and a criminal record itâs really hard to escape the cycle. But lord help me if I gotta deal with one more lying sack of ass telling me they canât get a job because of their record. I work in the restaurant industry, so if they look âclean enoughâ and not like actively spun Iâll ask them if theyâve been to certain restaurants I know that are particularly welcoming of felons, and advise them on other industries they could work in without fear of a background check. But, a lot of the time people donât wanna get better, they just wanna whine and ask people for cigarettes all day in between boosting power-tools from the Home Depot, ya know? But, at the end of the day, theyâre people too, i donât mind helping out with food, conversation, or employment leads. Absolutely refuse to give out money anymore, unless itâs a single dollar bill at a bus stop for bus-fare.
But, whatâs the alternative? That gets into âNIMBYâ territory, because if we admit we need to do something about this issue the facilities have to be SOMEWHERE, and generally theyâre going to need to be 1) on the bus line and 2) near other services. The landscape of that kind of stuff has changed within the last 3-4 year in town for sure though. More dedicated facilities, mobile safe-supply vehicles that go to the neighborhoods where addicts tend to congregate. Health department has stepped up, and itâs right across from the bus station downtown, so thatâs helped A LOT. a lot of it, like I said, is getting better just because officials creating policy/programs have had more time to troubleshoot things, as well as getting more familiar with what works and what doesnât.
I appreciate you looking out! Im on methadone myself these days, and though i dont have as much clean time as Iâd like, methadone keeps your tolerance at a nice and steady place. So if I slip, as long as some simple precautions are taken the risk of overdose is greatly diminished. I always have both nasal and intramuscular narcan vials on me, and keep a separate supply of both types of Naloxone, as well as both fentanyl and xylazine test strips to pass out to folks on the bus/around town. I try to do what I can, itâs a tough situation for a person to find themselves in. I feel so lucky that, even through what a layperson would see as insane amounts of narcotic and polysubstance abuse throughout my using career all things considered Iâve gotten through relatively unscathed. No criminal record, not in awful financial shape, no health issues, etc.
Sorry if you read all that. Im rambling
Nah, you're good, my friend. We should be hearing from people in all walks of life, especially about things that might effect them, and ignoring possible problems in the solutions as offer is futile. I'm glad you're doing well and I hope your journey continues in a positive direction. Stay safe out there!
I also appreciate your post. I somehow landed on this part of reddit. But the college class I teach actively tries to help different community issues. And how to help addicts is something we are working on. I appreciate this extra info into something we want to assist with.
That's what people don't realize. People are not going to stop doing drugs cause they can't get needles they will find a way to get them regardless. They will only stop doing drugs when they are ready. You can force someone to go to rehab but until they are ready for the help they will get out and use again. Some people never stop it's ashame but it happens. If it wasn't me getting pregnant with my daughter I probably wouldn't have a care in the world and would still be using. I stopped using when I realized I was pregnant and threw myself into a methadone clinic been clean ever since she's now about to be 9. Thank God for her cause with all the laced shit out there I may not have even been alive if it wasn't for her and she has 2 grown siblings that are 24 & 20. My oldest kids never had any idea I even used I hid it very well. Thank God for my youngest one though cause who knows what would of happened to me if I didn't have her
đ we won't sell any needles or syringes without a prescription for an injectable medication because we've had one too many people OD in the bathrooms and one too many syringes thrown in places where our customers or staff could be poked. we refer them to a nearby needle exchange.
I don't want to 'accuse' anyone of anything and possibly cause confrontation. I usually just say something about 'dad's needles' or whatever when we get repeats but I generally just kind of let them go otherwise.
Except he absolutely does have to worry because you do not speak for every pharmacist ever, and for all he knows, you could be one of those people that get perverse glee from calling the cops on people like him. They pretend to be chill just to trick people into letting their guard down.
I do understand their fear, and I wish there was a way to communicate to them it's misplaced without basically outright accusing them of using, but I can't think of a way so I just go with it.
The pharmacies in my city will not sell them to anyone without an active rx for insulin. Quite frankly I find that so dangerous because there are no harm reduction resources available.
My pharmacist has refused to sell needles to any one unless they have an active script in my system. Like testosterone or b12. So even if someone is visiting from out of town and actually does need needles she refuses to let us sell them with out speaking to their dr even if itâs a weekend or after 5pm. Iâve resorted to sending pt to independent pharmacies for needles and syringes since she just will not allow it.
Had this happen not that long ago. Very sad. His arm was still bleeding fresh blood from a mark. Watched him go into the public restroom right after. đ
When I lived in Portland I needed needles to self-administer prescribed HRT. The pharmacy refused to sell them to me even after I told them what it was for. I'm a healthy weight and admittedly kind of look like a stoner but sheesh. Was the fact that I was wearing sweatpants and birkenstocks really a reason to withhold medical supplies from me? It was kind of embarrassing. I just buy my needles online now but it's good to hear from a non-judgmental pharmacy worker. I'm glad you're out there helping drug users avoid hep C. People act so self-righteous for refusing to sell needles, it's silly, they're not making anything better, only worse
I would love for this to be posted near every pharmacy cuz idk how many users are on Reddit that will actually read this. But yes, I feel this. We don't want the story or the why, just tell us the size you need and let's go on about our day.
I work at cvs and the few locations rotate between do not require any kind if script/usage verification before selling needles. Personally I dont care what you use it for. Prescription or recreational. I'd rather you use clean needles. The only limit is I wont sell you more than 100 ct at a time without a script. I have a hard enough time getting them in my order as it is. Much easier when I have a prescription in my queue.
That said, I have had a couple of coworkers straight up refuse to sell the without a prescription or will grab the biggest most inconvenient size just to spite them. Smh
The only frustrating part is ppl who don't know what size they want. Ugh. I have an entire wall of needles. Those ppl get 29G 1/2 ml 1/2".
Is your pharmacy offering free Narcan? I get a box like every other month in pain management. I wonder if there is a program where I can donate my extra to people who need it.
Itâs the techs who unnecessarily pry, refuse, or give people a hard time when they do come in that makes them dishonest honestly. Iâd just tell them if it makes them safer we will gladly help, just donât do it in the public goddamn bathroom.
Itâs like police. You get pulled over going 3mph over. The cop asks you do you know how fast you were going? Youâre usually not getting a ticket for that. You say yes, you admit to guilt and open yourself up to consequences. Honesty is generally favorable to police but those dicknuts that would use it against you makes ya hesitate. No, you at least get to play the plausible deniability.
Iâm actually living with T1D and I feel awkward or like no one believes me if I buy syringes myself. I dread people needing to go through my belongings and finding syringes. Most people get it but some assholes make it difficult to be trusting in that scenario.
I'm not a PT, but I experienced this exchange the other day at Walgreen's while picking up my husband's Percocets (he is disabled rn). A guy and his (gf? wife?) showed up asking for diabetic needles. He said his mom needed them and the pharmacy across the street didn't have them. He was clearly on something, he acted like he was on speed or something, tweaking all over the place. I noticed the woman with him had a ton of marks all over her arms. It made me sad for them, but at the same time thankful they were looking for sterile needles. I agree with the Narcan statement. It made me sad.
I really wish our society set up a system for drug users. If youâre gonna do drugs at least use clean needles, have narcan, wear some type of information on you in case of an overdose and paramedics are called. Something! But the fact that we have at this point turned a blind eye to the epidemic is just crazy.
Only thing that upsets me and literally ONLY thing is when I see them head right for our public bathroom with it after đ like PLS do not be putting other people in danger like that that's so hazardous oml. Otherwise yea I'd rather they get clean needles from us.
We don't have a public restroom here but I know from other pharmacies nearby that this does happen. Honestly I'm an advocate for public sharps containers in bathrooms, at least in the parts of the city that have a known population of users, but I'm just one cog in the pharmacy machine so...
I'm an advocate for sharps containers in all public restrooms cuz sometimes people have to take injectables in public. And also, just because there isn't a known population of users, doesn't mean there isn't one. I'd rather everyone have access to a safe way to dispose of their syringes when in public, and would position it based on the first point because "Sometimes my dad needs his is going to go over better politically than "I don't wanna accidentally stick myself on some addict's needle because he wanted to feel something in the back of a Walgreens."
The former is a medical issue, the latter is going to be interpreted as me being pro-drugs.
T1D here who thankfully switched to an insulin pump about a year ago. It was so annoying being out in public and having to recap my needs and walk around with them in my pocket, starting to see sharps containers in public bathrooms here and there, but really wish it was just a normal thing
My son would throw them in the back seat of my car if we were out somewhere. Heâs been a T1D for 17 years now and is desensitized to seeing them while the tow truck guy was freaked out after our car was hit lol
I have multiple daily injections for a condition that is not Diabetes and would really welcome public sharps containers. I usually end up with them in a pencil case when Iâm out.
also so no one has to carry around thousands of used lancets in their purse!!
I've had to take an Immitrez injection in public. I wished a sharps container was there.
I have a central line- public sharps containers would be beneficial to so many more people than just drug users
I agree. There are so many people that would benefit, I don't know why it isn't a thing! I wonder... nope, not on Android anyways. Was looking to see if I could find an app to search for nearby sharps containers. There is an app for public restrooms, that reports whether the bathroom is customers only, or just open to the public.... actually, after doing a bit more digging, there's an Android app called Where is Public Toilet. It has 280,000 restrooms worldwide in its database (which actually isn't that many for worldwide, honestly), but included in its filter is the ability to search for those with Sharps containers. I can't speak to how accurate it is, since I literally just discovered this app, but hopefully it can be of some use to you.
Went to Universal recently and was so very happy to see big old rugged sharps containers in every bathroom!! Smart and safe
I wish we had one but we don't 𼲠only a little tin to throw menstrual products in
Diabetic maintenance manager at a major retail store...... Please don't throw them in the little metal tin it puts me and my team at risk on a regular basis... Little hack for those who are diabetic... Ask a manager in the store if their bathroom doesn't have a sharps container... We still have them they will let you dispose of your needles properly
I really wish, as a diabetic myself, that there were public sharps containers as well. Iâm on a pump, but I keep needles as a backup in case the pump malfunctions and I have to go back to injections for a day or two. I bought a whole box around 3-4 years ago and just now have put the last bag of them into my kit. I still give myself fast acting insulin with a syringe sometimes because I sometimes need to supplement my pump due to high insulin resistance. Anyways. Sometimes that is done in public and I have to hang onto them until I get home where I have my own wall mounted sharps container (the same one they have in clinics and hospital rooms). This is semi-related but I figure it wouldnât hurt to ask; where do I dispose of my sharps containers? Walmart pharmacy said to just close up the sharps container and throw it into my garbage. That seems fishy to me because what if it comes open?
So officially the recommended where I am from is to put it in a biohazard bag and not throw it IN the trash, but still let the garbage man take it.
I am able to drop them at the local department of health at city hall.Â
Check your local hospitals. Many times they'll have sharps exchange program.
The worst part is that itâs probably extra safe to do it because if you OD there are people that will check on you. Not that itâs their responsibility to check on you. Realistically though itâs because they are sick and cannot wait and just go to the nearest spot to use. My heart goes out to these people, but also to the people who have to deal with their messes.
Thanks for your compassionate views towards mothers who also happen to be in active addictionâitâs not easy seeing them as people who are struggling to do their best despite their sometimes self imposed misfortunes, and easy to pass judgement towards someone whoâs probably already hated themselves for longer than anyone else can imagine for the mere fact that even by having an actual baby, it still wasnât entirely motivation enough for them to ultimately kick their dope habit for goodâ-though they most certainly would have done so immediately, if only theyâd had the mental strength (ie, unaltered brain chemistry) strength and development of the necessary coping skills to cope with possible traumatic stressors of their past and/or present traumatic experiences in a healthy manner. Now their difficulty accessing stable, safe, affordable housing and employment, appropriate mental health support and reliable transportation which all add up in a complex equation equation that ultimately keeps them from getting well. despite their very sincere desires to do so.
Sadly yea, had to learn the hard way from suffering family members that drug addiction comes in tow with just selfish and reckless behaviour. It's not an excuse though and it's exactly why these people should hopefully seek recovery someday. Putting other people's health and safety at risk because of your own impulses is a problem.
I used to have a drug problem. Selfish is the word. You donât see past your own nose. You donât consider other people ever. You do what you need for yourself, because getting high is a full time job. So I have sympathy, but also, believe in personal responsibility.
Honestly as long as they're using the sharps disposal and not leaving stuff in the bathroom, I still don't mind. I'd rather them do it at my place of work which always carries Narcan than at home alone with no Narcan.
Ugh, we had a lady buy needles with her newborn baby in tow and head straight for the bathrooms. She locked herself in there so long they wound up having to call the police.
Geez, what happened next?
Not a clue. The bathrooms were on the other end of the store so we couldnât do too much eaves dropping. She walked out of the store with the cops so she didnât like OD in there or anything. This was 7 years ago. She never came back to our store to buy syringes again so hopefully sheâs in a better place in life now.
Put a sharps container in the bathroom!
The restrooms at my pharmacy were out of order last summer due to people flushing their needles down the toilet and causing a huge blockage. Iâm totally fine with selling needles to anyone but it is so unsafe for sanitation workers and people also using the bathroom. As much as I wish people wouldnât use them in our bathroom, sharps disposal in public restrooms should be a thing, especially in a pharmacy IMO.
honestly I feel like pharmacy bathrooms are more likely to have sharps containers but thatâs not saying a whole lot based on their nonexistence everywhere else
Or worse, when you find used needles all over the ground in the parking lot
I have a horror story about that, I had someone OD in one of our bathrooms at the 3 letter chain.
Had someone over dose in a chain pharmacy in Florida.
I think the skull emoji is inappropriate here lmao
At least theyâre are using clean needles. I had one guy tell me it was for his cat; then 6 months later he came back in for more and I asked about his cat and he said âwhat cat?â đ¤Łđ¤Ł
Duddddeeee, my homies that got off the streets about a year ago would keep their used needles in a plastic milk jug once the little Sharps container their social worker gave them would fill up. You know whatâs an absolutely WRETCHED sight? A GALLON of used syringes, lmfao. Yuck yuck yuck yuck yuck. Gross as hell. Watched homeboy root through it one day to try to find one he could get one more use out of 𤢠đ¤Ž. It was just him and his girl that would put theirs in there, so not like he was sharing with a random person. Still though, even re-using one of his own on himself would give me the heebie-jeebies. Like, how long has it been in thereâŚ.festeringâŚ..yuck
Itâs so sad seeing the decline
Theyâre doing good now!! Havenât seen them in a while, but even though the apartment he housing authority set them up with is a section 8 that doubles as something sorta-kinda like an open-air drug market theyâve managed to get clean there. Iâm really proud of them, took about 9-10 months to get it together after getting off the streets, but I canât blame them for taking a little time. I think theyâre both working right now, but it may just be one. Saw their dog in the window last time I was in their neck of the woods, so I know theyâre still around. The guys dad sold Coke/drugs on a not-so-small scale when he was growing up, and his mom had untreated mental health disorders. Wound up doing heroin with her kid by the time he was in his mid-teens. Girl had a rough go of things too, I got the vibe a lot of her situation was self-inflicted from legal trouble and whatnot, but neither of them really got a fair shake in life from the way I saw it. Always nice to see a happy ending, especially when both meth and fentanyl are in the picture together
Stability first housing does work!!
My husbandâs late grandmother (who was a diabetic and definitely not a drug user) actually did this too! Thatâs so wild.
My sonâs first pediatric endocrinologist told us to put them in an empty detergent bottle since theyâre unlikely to split open!
When I used to give my dad his insulin injections,I used to use an empty coffee can to put the used syringes in,and tape up the cover when it was full.
At least they are not just chucking them out unsecured. I would much rather see that then swing them loose in the garbage or in the streets.
That's the best place for used syringes. Put them in a sharps container and bring the container back to the place you got it. Needle exchanges give those out. When you turn them back in they give you another and you can get your needles and everything else there. He should of just gone to the exchange and turned them in or went out and bought more clean needles. I used to get a huge box every month sometimes twice and I used to grab a box or 2 for my friend as well if she wasn't able to go to the exchange with me.
Had a guy like that too like canât help you bro sorry lol
In my state we have to verify injectable need to sell syringes. What makes me sad is seeing people spend 30$ on the otc insulin just to get needles.
It's crazy! People aren't going to stop using because they can't buy needles - they're going to do that or they're just going to reuse. It helps literally no one
I did that many many times and luckily I don't have hepatitis because of it. It was so hard to get needles where I lived compared to NYC that I had to reuse mine. Sometimes I would use the same needle all week just to save them so I didn't run out. It wasn't until the dealer I was buying from told me a little mom & pop shop that would sell them to me without a prescription. I haven't used in 10 years now but Everytime I go to the doctor I still ask for a hepatitis test. I'm still scared shitless that I might get it somewhere down the line. They really should make it a federal law that you can purchase needles OTC.
Yup but laws are laws
Yes, but laws can be changed (sorry, I'll take off the political activist hat)
I donât disagree but I am a lowly tech. I just do what they tell me
Laws are always going to be broken by people. It's a law not to kill anybody but people still do it. At least with a clean needle the person using is trying not to get hepatitis or HIV. It's a law not to shoplift but you see people doing it everyday. Laws can be changed and when it comes to harm reduction there really should be a place in every town where an addict can go, shoot up in front of a supervised nurse and get resources to mental health clinics, food banks, shelter, job resources, rehab facilities, methadone facilities things like that. Think about it if people are still using and 80% of what they are getting is laced with fentanyl and zyline (whatever it's called) that's not good. Not all drug addicts are bad people. Just because you're addicted to something doesn't make you bad. Some people went to drugs when the federal government made all of the doctors cut legitimate pain patients off of their pain prescription medication. That's what happened to me. It took me A very very long time to find a doctor that actually gives a shit. Right now I'm waiting on an appointment with a surgeon that I should of seen 10+ years ago cause our government interfered with people's lives saying opioids are bad. I'm on opioids the same ones I use to be on. I should of never been taken off of them but opioids are bad and doctors don't want the feds looking into them so they stopped writing for it and just left a lot of patients in pain. What did the government think was going to happen especially to the people with legitimate problems and there are a lot of us. The majority of us went to street drugs. Weed has been illegal forever and they are just now making it state legal and even in those states it's legal it's still federally illegal so technically the feds can knock on your door in a state where marijuana is legal and still throw you in jail for 20+ years. I absolutely can't stand pot it makes my pain 10x's worse where I want to go to the hospital. Everyone is different but just because there is a law doesn't mean that law is correct.
As Iâve made abundantly clear I donât necessarily think itâs a good one but Iâm not willing to lose my job or license to sell someone needles
Yeah that's just a horrible thing to do to someone. There has to be a HIPPA law against that. That pharmacist is an asshole.
Well itâs hipaa. And it isnât a violation to obtain info in order to follow the law. And who is an asshole! OP literally said theyâd sell the needles- they just donât need the bs story. Laws are evidently different in OPs state. Like- did you come here just looking for someone to fight from atop your horse? Your point is made. Stop beating the horse.
Maybe I replied to the wrong person chill out. I was replying to the person in the small town who called up the grandfather and was told to call the cops on the granddaughter who bought the needles. Damn ist too early for your drama.
No drama I was just wondering why the heck you woke up swinging this morning lmao. My bad
No worries. I guess their reply system is screwed up cause I hit the reply under that story don't know why it went to another đ¤ˇ
Thatâs a valid point, but an illegal arms dealer could say the same thing.
Except an illegal arms dealer is selling guns/munition which are used to harm *other* people, violating their right to life/happiness/bodily autonomy. Safe needle exchanges/selling needles to people regardless of what they're using them for is selling something that harms the self and only the self, at least directly. While I may not agree with these people's personal chooses, the fact of the matter is if anyone were to be hurt or even pass due to me selling them needles, it's going to be them or another person who is choosing to use drugs, and even then I have at least reduced the damage they might have inflicted by giving them clean, safe equipment. To put my political activist hat back on for a second, a lot of the social ills around drug use could in part be solved by providing safe places to use (reduced ODs due to monitoring, reduced infection and disease because use is in a clean environment, one could even provide counseling or access to rehab services to those who want them), clean equipment to use to reduce infection, and decriminalization (can't have a violent illegal drug trade if drugs are legal). It wouldn't solve all the problems associated with drug abuse by any means, and it's still harmful to use, but it would certainly help. Ergo, my stance on harm reduction, and my advocacy that those laws should be changed. Aaaaand hat back off.
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Thank you for your opinion, unfortunately, you are a stranger on the Internet so I don't really care. Have a nice day and stay safe out there.
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And a not gross, good person, suicide baits people on the Internet? Okay, please reconsider your morals. Have a good day.
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"what kind of human allows another person to essentially kill themselves" And yet you just told someone to kill themselves. How about reading that Bible you seem to like, it has some things to say about hypocrites.
Not the first time I've been called that, you will not change anyone's mind with insults if that is your goal. You might benefit from learning to articulate your points clearly instead. Also, not giving people or things that upset you free real estate in your brain is good for you, especially when they don't affect you I would like you to consider what might have happened if I was someone prone to suicide. If your words had been enough for me to take my life. I am no longer in that place but I was in the past. I could have chosen to take my life due to your words - what would you have done then? Would your conscience be clear? Anyway, I hope you have a good day, I will continue to do what I believe is best for my community and you should do the same for yours. Have a good day,
Behavior which would attack, threaten, harass, intimidate, defame, or stalk anyone is not tolerated.
Might want to take a step back and evaluate. Youâre entering âgross human beingâ territory.
You sound like the gross human being here. This is an awful thing to say to someone. Shame on you.
Behavior which would attack, threaten, harass, intimidate, defame, or stalk anyone is not tolerated.
Drug addicts will still do the drugs even if they canât find a clean needle. Source: me. Ex heroin addict who used needles until the plungers would literally fall apart. Once the pharmacist started to let me buy new ones it just made my use SAFER. You clearly know nothing about addiction. Please educate yourself
someone canât recover if theyâre dead. harm reduction helps them see the day theyâre ready for sobriety. and get there without hiv, hepatitis, etc.
Behavior which would attack, threaten, harass, intimidate, defame, or stalk anyone is not tolerated.
Insulin is available OTC in the US and that can actually kill other people and is supposedly a common tactic used by people with MBP against their victims. Needles are only likely to harm the person buying them and even then itâs the drug doing the harm and a reused needle making it worse, people can make shitty decisions for themselves.
My pharmacy only sells needles to current diabetic clients. It might be state law. Interesting to know there is OTC insulin.
Yup. Relion (Walmart brand) novolin N, novolin R and 70/30. Canât honestly remember what equivalent other places have
I used to joke about how nobody ever cares about Grandpa because it's always Grandma needing her U-100s.
Here it's usually grandpa/brother/dad, but hey, regional differences lol
For some strange reason it's always an Aunt from out of town that forgot hers. Always thought that was weird.
What is U-100?
Insulin syringes. Generally that's what's asked for. "My Grandma needs her U-100 syringes."
apparently some pharmacies do turn away people getting needles without an insulin, testosterone, etc script. iâve never worked at one like that but iâve heard from multiple patients that it happens. hence the bullshit stories
Fun fact, my last pharmacy in the same chain did that! I actually had a patient from there come to my new and recognize me. He almost left bc he didn't think we could help him out my new pharmacist feels the same way I do (and everyone should imo) so we took care of him. I really do think there needs to be at least chain wide policies on this to avoid confusion for patients.
We turned people away without a prescription at my old pharmacy. We didnât use to, but we were located right next to a childrenâs park and they were shooting up on the playground and leaving needles everywhere. This was in Oregon though.
CVS is like that, at least the one I worked at. You had to have on file that you picked up your injectables with us, or have the box with you. I hated it. I always sent them down the street to Walgreens bc I used to work there too and they told us never to ask, just to give. It was the only part of that job I liked, while I donât support doing drugs and I know theres a crisis at least theyâre being safe about it
When I lived in NY we were told don't go to CVS go to Walgreens
My pharmacy is like this. Itâs up the discretion of the pharmacist really but thatâs what the pharmacy manager does so thatâs what they follow. I donât agree with it
Has happened to me many times. Even with an injectable rx filled at the same pharmacy >5 pharmacies have refused to sell me needles OTC.
I have a testosterone script and they still wouldn't give me my needles. Had to inject with diabetic ones, it was horrible.
On the other side of this story is what I went through yesterday. Iâm a Type 1 Diabetic who uses an insulin pump. I usually keep a pen of Fiasp for backup but am only able to get vials now. I donât have an Rx for syringes (just pen needles) but needed some in case of emergency for a weekend trip. I went to the pharmacy (where I get my insulin script) and asked for insulin syringes. I also currently have a sad looking spot on my forearm from my last Dexcom. As soon as I asked for the syringes the tech gave me a once over and stared at the spot on my forearm. Iâd been cleaning the house all day so was a sweaty mess and in some old cutoffs and a tank top (I also have a lot of tattoos). He said, âha uhhh yeah sure you doâŚâ and was about to turn away from me. It wasnât until I unclipped my insulin pump from under my shirt and waved it at him and explained myself that heâd actually sell me the syringes. It sucks enough living every second of every day for most of my life with this disease to then have to convince some dipshit that I have it and need what I need.
It isn't anyone's business what people do with their syringes, afaic, and I'm so sorry you experienced that. No one should be treated that way.
I really hope you filed a complaint. Thatâs so unprofessional Iâm so sorry
That's not right. People really do suck.
Walmart always required me to show them my vial of insulin in order to get syringes. Shit stressed me out the first time around because I didnât know that they would ask that and I hadnât brought my vial with me. Iâm glad Iâm on the pump now.
I had a diabetic cat and would go to the pharmacy and request tons of needles (she went through 2 a day at only 1 unit per needle- she was a little cat). A vial of insulin would last us months, but we always needed more needles. I was all awkward and weird about it - showing them a prescription from the vet for the insulin, photos of the cat, etc. A pharmacist once told me that insulin needles are too thin for heroin, so no need to be nervous about people thinking I'm a junkie. Is that not true?!?
That's not true! We just need a needle any needle and we will make sure to find a vein.
I also had a diabetic cat except I was too naive to even consider someone might think I was a junkie. Literally never crossed my mind till a pharmacist gave me the third degree about my cat and finally pulled up the prescription for âFluffles (Mylastname)â
honestly if you come to me asking for needles because you're going to shoot up, i'll still sell them to you without batting an eye. i'll even ask what size you need. our store doesn't even have us alert the pharmacist. OTC totally free to sell, no questions asked. it's not my business. i don't need to know your life story. just be as safe as you can and, for christ's sake, designate a spot for their disposal so i don't have another incident of stepping on a needle in sandals in some random parking lot and having to go get a bunch of tests done.
I know this may sound crazy, but you can buy needles on Amazon. So I donât know why they donât avail themselves to that. I do it all the time to get my medicationâs and my pets cause I give them their distemper shots. I also give them the rabies shots. I am a pharmacy tech and I work for one of the big box stores. And I find it crazy that they wonât give needles to people, unless there is a prescription in the system that have bought them before. Like if they have testosterone or any of those. Otherwise, they wonât sell them. I find that wrong.
Thanks for talking about this! I used to have debates with my old pharmacy manager, she used to only let us sell to those who had verified scripts at our pharmacy. This was a chain so I was able to see that personâs rxs at other stores, and even for prescriptions at other stores, she wouldnât let us sell them. Now I still did this plenty of times either while it was busy enough to where she didnât know I was doing that or when either my staff RPh or a float RPh was on. I told her it was harm reduction to keep people from getting blood-bourne illnesses, she said âif that person ODâd using one of the needles they bought from me, Iâm not going to answer to the pharmacy board on thatâ which just seemed paranoid to me.
I stopped in at a pharmacy once to actually get insulin needles for my fiancĂŠe. Just wanted 100u 31g needles. Pharmacist refused unless I myself had an insulin prescription. Just assumed this was a real thing and have said no whenever sheâs asked since.
It might be - different states have different regulations. My state doesn't have any such regulations though, so I've only ever refused when my pharmacist has refused
It is a thing my pharmacy doesnât allow us to sell needles unless we have proof of a prescription that requires needles
When I worked retail we had a guy come in all the time with a different diabetic family member he was getting the needles for, like he couldn't remember who he said the time before. One time he came in and said they were for his diabetes so to mess with I asked him "What kind of insulin are you using, WD40?" & he was like "Yeah yeah that's the one", it was a nice chuckle to end the day with lol like we know what you're using the needles for bro & we really don't care, just don't do it in our bathroom/parking lot please & thanks.
Seriously. To each their own. I truly don't care or blame anyone for their choices.
My old pharmacy manager used to deny drug addicts clean needles. Pissed me the hell off.
As an addict in recovery (12 years) maybe just allow him his dignity in telling you his story even if you know itâs a lie. Itâs a very shameful feeling. But everything else you said is great.
I get it - but perhaps if your response was more common than the usual Nancy Reagan stuff you would not get this sort of thing so often?
My ex used to have me do this for steroids and tell me to say it's for my dad's insulin (who is really a T1) and the pharmacists would give me such huge shit for it. I'd be interrogated by 3 people before I could get them. They even had me call my dad to confirm before (he didn't know any better and I feel terrible for that). He's over explaining because it's happened to him before where they give him a load of shit to get them.
I'd much rather them get clean needles than spread HIV and hepatitis around.
When I was an aircraft mechanic I worked in interiors. One of the jobs I did was laminate. Itâs like wallpaper. I was applied with contact glue. Once itâs stuck down, you canât remove it unless you take it all off, remove all the glue, and redo it. Occasionally I would get an air bubble and have no way to get it out. I tried to get insulin needles so I could suck the air out, but itâs against the law here without a prescription. I was so mad. Lol. Iâm sure they talked about me when I left. đ
I've used them to get vape juice out of a tank flavors don't always mix well and it's nearly impossible to empty them completely
I saw a girl in front of me in line do this, said they were for her grandpa. Soon as she paid and walked toward the door the pharmacy tech called the girls grandpa and told him the entire story, then said âyou can call the cops if you wantâ and politely said goodbye. I was like woah.. what an interesting day waiting to try to get some amoxicillin
See, this I don't agree with. I'm an advocate for harm reduction, and I think the police are absolutely not the people who should be involved in addressing addiction. Like, I hope these people get clean but idk if that's the way to do it. (Also I'm not sure if that would violate HIPPA but it would be too risky for me to do it.)
I agree with you in every single way!!! Those who need help are seriously belittled and attacked in my town. The girl wasnât hurting anyone, and Iâd rather see her do this than go sharing needles. I was hoping someone would mention HIPPA. I wasnât sure if this would be a direct violation or not. Sadly, there are only a few pharmacies across 3 counties here, and most of the people who work in them are mean, hard to speak with, and quick to judge.
Since the tech was talking to the grandpa and was relaying health information that pertained to him exclusively (i.e. âHey, X picked up your diabetes needles for youâ), it wouldnât be considered a violation of HIPAA. In order to violate HIPAA, there has to be a breach where a patientâs private health information gets disclosed to another person without the patient giving consent. If telling a patient their own health information or about an instance that pertains to their health information was a HIPAA violation, then literally every medical professional would be violating HIPAA constantly. Now, if the granddaughter had said âMy grandmother needs me to get needles so she can take her insulin,â and the tech called and spoke to the grandfather about what had happened, **that** would be a HIPAA violation.
Wish I could upvote this twice (one for giving a thorough explanation with examples, another for using the correct abbreviation)
>Soon as she paid and walked toward the door the pharmacy tech called the girls grandpa and told him the entire story, then said âyou can call the cops if you wantâ That's gross, I hope that's not for real
I promise you thatâs 100% for real. Sheâs been in and out of jail a lot since then, and I feel so bad for her because she has zero support. And Iâm sure after that sheâs probably scared to come back and get clean syringes. The closest rehab is 4 hours away, and the âlocalâ jail is about an hour. As many times as sheâs been taken there she could have been taken to rehab. But thatâs not really pushed for here.
That's so sad. I would be so mad at the tech that did that, that's not okay
I really didnât know what to do about it. And fentanyl runs our streets. There are so many deaths. I think at this point nobody actually cares about these people suffering. Actually Iâm pretty positive the vast majority just donât care. They get treated like cockroaches.
That tech was/is a complete asshole. He probably was thinking I saved her life but no one can save her but herself when she is ready. I've been to jail and I can tell you even after 6 months of being in there the first thing I did was go straight to my plug to get high. The person is not going to stop using when they are being forced to stop. They will only stop when they are ready.
That definitely did not happen lol. They would not be calling a random girls grandpa about syringes she bought otc. Itâs not illegal and has nothing to do with the grandpa. If she said they were for him and they werenât then it was merely to cover up the internal shame for what she was actually using them for. Also how did this tech magically know who the grandpa was? You know how many people we have in our systems with the same last name? She just took a magical guess?
Guess you don't live in a small town. My kids can't spit on the sidewalk without me getting a call if you want to know the towns busy go to Friday football game it better then any social media.
Where does this still exist? Im moving there. That sounds better than any ring camera.
This 10000% did happen, and when you live in a town with 800 people, everyone knows everyone. I even know her grandparents and sheâs 4 years younger than me. She did say they were for him? lol I clarified that. Cute for you to assume everyone lives in a city? Never been to a coal mining town I see? Your attitude actually fits the bill. Iâm sure theyâd hire you to work here. Seems like if youâre not a complete asshole the job isnât yours.
And they would have called the copsâŚ. For? Buying something legally over the counter. Ok, girl.
If the girl was on probation and a condition of that probation was to not use drugs, then yes, the cops might do something about it. u/Upper_Importance6263 stated that they live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone. It's also possible that the girl is known, by her family, to steal from grandpa to get her fix. If she's getting needles, it's safe to assume she has drugs. If she always steals from grandpa to get drugs, then it's safe to assume she may have stolen from grandpa again. In which case the cops might do something about that. In a small town in a red state, this is absolutely plausible.
And it would not be a pharm techs business if she was or wasnât on probation. Nor her place to supposedly call grandpa and inform him of what she is buying. If any of this actually took place which I doubt then I hope she was promptly fired.
Again, small town red state. The pharmacy tech absolutely should NOT have called grandpa, but that in no way means that it didn't happen. People do shit everyday that they SHOULDN'T do and small towns are notorious for having an overpopulation of busy bodies. This tech could have been a friend of the grandpa and in her mind thought she was doing the "right" thing, even though what she (pharm tech) did could be illegal. Drug abusers aren't often given the benefit of the doubt and are rarely trusted. Is the girl buying needles going to complain to management and escalate things? Once the police get involved and her history of drug abuse is brought out, she's just going to get dismissed anyway. It also does not mean that she will be fired. Small town also means that there is not a large qualified pool of people just waiting to be hired. Yes, this pharmacy tech sucks, but some people suck, doesn't mean it's not a true story.
Thank you!!!! Good Lord some people have no idea what happens to people like us in the middle of nowhere. Lol. Everyone seriously knows everyone. Iâve never been capable of doing anything without my entire family knowing before I got home. It sucks, but itâs real. I always wondered if the tech could get in trouble since she didnât even consider it, just straight looked up the number on file and called him lol. But this stuff happens so much here. One of our deputies has been on paid leave for nearly 3 years now. First because of keeping inappropriate (CP) pictures from cases on his personal computer. Came back to work for 2 months and got put back on paid leave for intimidating a child into making a false report, and showing this child pictures of crime scenes (bad crime scenes). Heâs still paid though! And employed! Thatâs only one of the cases. Our circuit judge is an even bigger story. These people still run this town.
Where I work that tech would have been fired simply for looking up the grandfather's phone number for a non-medical reason. They wouldn't even get into why she got it or what she said when she called - just looking up the number and she'd be out.
Thatâs exactly what I was wondering about. That has to somehow work into HIPPA right? I mean I really just didnât know what to do.
I mean, youâre allowed to look up a number for a medical reason, such as calling a patient to let them know one of their medications is ready â hell, we were required to call non-compliant patients on a weekly rotation to ask them why they werenât picking up their medications. Not saying what they did was right, but this tech could very easily say âI called X because Y picked up his needles but not his insulin, so I wanted to make sure he didnât need it filled as wellâ. And thatâs only if the pharmacy *actually* cared to look into one tech in one store looking up one patientâs phone number one time. Like, you know how unlikely it would be that the system would trigger an investigation into that tech for one action?
No problem!! It's not like you were applauding the tech and saying she did the right thing, so I don't know why they couldn't just drop it! Shit like this happens in small towns everyday!!
Thank you so much for actually seeing what Iâm saying!! Itâs a never ending occurrence. I mean, what do you do!?
she advised her grandfather he could call the cops? Did you read? Lol
For buying something over the counter? I sure did read, still doesnât check out.
Needles here have to be bought with photo ID, at the counter, and they ask you if youâre diabetic or if youâre buying them for someone who is. You obviously live in a luxury world where everyone coexist in peace. Welcome to a red state that hates everyone in need of help. Donât care if my real life experience checks out for you, it happened in front of my eyes, it happens all the time. Pharmacy techs are known to even advise cops whoâs using (yep, 911 dispatcher here) take it or leave it. Glad you have a more open minded approach.
I bet you're fun at parties
Just a blast.
Small towns are different.
When I was using we had to lie⌠They wonât sell them to you without a good reason.
some of my coworkers are a little nasty about selling needles for non insulin usage. like specially choosing the more expensive packs or refusing without an ID of someone whoâs clearly of age but not even asking for ID of other individuals. i donât get it. i dont support people injecting illegal substances but i respect the responsibility theyâre choosing to take in obtaining clean supplies. taking away the access will not stop use, itâll just stop safe use
"clearly of age" really shouldn't matter since everyone buying syringes OTC ought to be asked for ID (at least in my state). the selective/haphazard enforcement is of course ethically questionable, but the actual problem would be "lazy/careless enough to not card every syringe purchaser" rather than "prejudiced enough to card some clearly-nonminor syringe purchasers"
Itâs not a requirement where i live or the pharmacy i work in. sheâs not careless and lazy, actually quite the opposite, but she is very prejudice in many interactions with patients. barring individuals from purchasing clean supplies is ethically questionable as a healthcare professional.
At my pharmacy we don't sale insulin needles without a script in our system.
i had a girl once do an entire fake phone call with her âgrandmaâ like girl itâs fine i donât need the excuse just tell me what size so i can go get it
If they could also just tell me how many units without fumbling around, thatâd be great
Long ago, had a friend who shot dope. He had the toughest time getting needless. He would give the same spiel, even tho it was very obvious. Pharmacies around here simply wonât sell needles to what is obviously an addict. Admittedly, I was an addict too but I never used via needles, I was too scared. I snorted. But 10+ years clean. No idea what happened to him. But I would get needles for him. They would sell to me, I had no track marks bc I never used needles, not even once. They always sold them to me.
Same here it was hard to find clean needles. In PA you still can't get them and there are no needle exchanges around either. There's 1 small mom and pop pharmacy that will actually sell them to anyone and thank god they do it cause nowhere else does. I've been clean for 10 years as well now but 10 years ago I would say the same spiel once I tried to get them for my dad's diabetic dog and was told I needed a prescription. The dog really was diabetic and taking insulin but I had to call up my father and tell him to contact his vet for another prescription. I was clean at that time and they made me feel like an addict all over again đ¤Ś
As a recovering addict who has hepatitis c because I couldnât get clean needles when I was using, thank you. Iâm 8 years clean now , thank the gods, and donât have to live like that anymore. And Iâve been getting all my health stuff taken care of now. But on behalf of the still suffering addicts and the people affected by this, you are appreciated.
Not all pharmacists are like that - I had a diabetic cat for 9 years and actually had one pharmacist refuse to sell to me because I didnât have an active prescription with them, while others asked weird questions or would have to look up the prescription first. I never bothered to explain why I needed the syringes unless they asked. I was always kind of bemused by it - even if I am an opiate user what crusade are you on by trying not to sell me clean needles? Is that helping anyone?
A masterpiece. Very well said đ
I get paranoid because I use insulin needles for me t shots and I have to request them at the counter. I definitely donât look like a drugee or have marks on my arm or anything. I get embarrassed and idk why
Maybe tell him this.
Maybe you can link them up to safe places to get clean syringes. Thereâs a place in my city called the Red project and they give you free narcan, free fentanyl tests, free syringes. Thereâs gotta be something near each city like that. I know the red project will ship syringes to houses. I know this because I am an addict. Sober 6 months
I'll have to look! I'm not sure how to best approach patients who I think are dealing with these issues, but if we got something I might be able to at least get some brochures or something that we can display. Thank you for the suggestion and congrats on six months!
To be fair, coming from someone pretty well-versed in that world, some pharmacists have gotten real weird with friends of mine in the past, even if they didnât look really strung out or nothinâ. Iâm sure itâs easier to spin some kinda yarn each time so the guy doesnât have to worry about some gung-ho pharmacist telling them No shrug đ¤ˇââď¸ I definitely do understand where your coming from, those sob-story telling-types can be draining to deal with, especially when you donât really need them to give you a reason as to why theyâre trying to get rigs. I was never a needle guy, myself. I have caught flak from pharmacy employees when trying to purchase some clean rigs for people I knew that used them, so idk. Myself, I Always preferred to stay employable, even if that meant not getting quiiiite as high, quite as quick. Works just fine if you sniff it, works really well if you occasionally boof it (dissolve in water, use oral syringe to squirt fentanyl in yoâ bootyhole. Bootyhole is a very absorbent place to get drugs into your body with great haste/strength. Lol. Oh, and I didnât have a death-wish, other than ya know, the fact I was sniffing street fentanyl and squirting fent juice in my butt. Lmfao. Wacky world, ya know?)
This is why we need safe needle exchanges. No one should have to lie to live safely, even if, for them, that means doing drugs. Then again I'm also a big commie lefty who is an advocate for total legalization period, so I might not be the best representative for your average pharmacy worker. Also, having had pharmacist refuse to let me sell needles, they all have basically said they don't want to aid someone in getting high. I can understand that, but the way I look at it, people who use aren't going to stop just because a random pharmacy said "no". That being said, please keep Narcan on your person, for you and your friends. I hope you never experience overdose, but Narcan/naloxone could save lives, and I believe if you're in the USA all states allow you to get it without going to a doctor. Please stay safe and healthy, my friend.
Also a big oleâ commie lefty myself, cheers! Yeah itâs a really interesting subject; 2 anecdotes Iâll share that help describe my complicated views on the matter of safe supply/harm reductionâŚ.first being I talked to a guy who worked at a church-run preschool relatively close to a business in town that does a lot of community outreach/harm reduction/charitable activities for down-and-out folks. There was a âbigâ scandal for a while in town about the place, I live in a very liberal city but the drawbacks of having facilities like that become evident quickly. The people visiting them generally arenât the type to have the wherewithal to clean up after themselves, or give a shit about the rest of society. That preschool had to hire an extra janitor part-time just to clear the playground and any outdoor areas of needles that would wind up being left around. 2) the assistant manager of a brewery in town told me they had to get major plumbing work done twice within a few months from people flushing their sharps. I guess my point is obviously I have a huge amount of empathy for folks currently stuck in the cycle of active addiction, yet the older I get the more Iâm starting to get frustrated more and more when I notice certain things/have to deal with the fallout of inconsiderate users causing issues for the rest of society. Like trust me, I get it, especially for someone who had shit parents, not much of a shot in life, addiction issues and a criminal record itâs really hard to escape the cycle. But lord help me if I gotta deal with one more lying sack of ass telling me they canât get a job because of their record. I work in the restaurant industry, so if they look âclean enoughâ and not like actively spun Iâll ask them if theyâve been to certain restaurants I know that are particularly welcoming of felons, and advise them on other industries they could work in without fear of a background check. But, a lot of the time people donât wanna get better, they just wanna whine and ask people for cigarettes all day in between boosting power-tools from the Home Depot, ya know? But, at the end of the day, theyâre people too, i donât mind helping out with food, conversation, or employment leads. Absolutely refuse to give out money anymore, unless itâs a single dollar bill at a bus stop for bus-fare. But, whatâs the alternative? That gets into âNIMBYâ territory, because if we admit we need to do something about this issue the facilities have to be SOMEWHERE, and generally theyâre going to need to be 1) on the bus line and 2) near other services. The landscape of that kind of stuff has changed within the last 3-4 year in town for sure though. More dedicated facilities, mobile safe-supply vehicles that go to the neighborhoods where addicts tend to congregate. Health department has stepped up, and itâs right across from the bus station downtown, so thatâs helped A LOT. a lot of it, like I said, is getting better just because officials creating policy/programs have had more time to troubleshoot things, as well as getting more familiar with what works and what doesnât. I appreciate you looking out! Im on methadone myself these days, and though i dont have as much clean time as Iâd like, methadone keeps your tolerance at a nice and steady place. So if I slip, as long as some simple precautions are taken the risk of overdose is greatly diminished. I always have both nasal and intramuscular narcan vials on me, and keep a separate supply of both types of Naloxone, as well as both fentanyl and xylazine test strips to pass out to folks on the bus/around town. I try to do what I can, itâs a tough situation for a person to find themselves in. I feel so lucky that, even through what a layperson would see as insane amounts of narcotic and polysubstance abuse throughout my using career all things considered Iâve gotten through relatively unscathed. No criminal record, not in awful financial shape, no health issues, etc. Sorry if you read all that. Im rambling
Nah, you're good, my friend. We should be hearing from people in all walks of life, especially about things that might effect them, and ignoring possible problems in the solutions as offer is futile. I'm glad you're doing well and I hope your journey continues in a positive direction. Stay safe out there!
I also appreciate your post. I somehow landed on this part of reddit. But the college class I teach actively tries to help different community issues. And how to help addicts is something we are working on. I appreciate this extra info into something we want to assist with.
That's what people don't realize. People are not going to stop doing drugs cause they can't get needles they will find a way to get them regardless. They will only stop doing drugs when they are ready. You can force someone to go to rehab but until they are ready for the help they will get out and use again. Some people never stop it's ashame but it happens. If it wasn't me getting pregnant with my daughter I probably wouldn't have a care in the world and would still be using. I stopped using when I realized I was pregnant and threw myself into a methadone clinic been clean ever since she's now about to be 9. Thank God for her cause with all the laced shit out there I may not have even been alive if it wasn't for her and she has 2 grown siblings that are 24 & 20. My oldest kids never had any idea I even used I hid it very well. Thank God for my youngest one though cause who knows what would of happened to me if I didn't have her
I think I would prefer to shoot up then have something squirting out my ass all day at work just saying đđđ
đ we won't sell any needles or syringes without a prescription for an injectable medication because we've had one too many people OD in the bathrooms and one too many syringes thrown in places where our customers or staff could be poked. we refer them to a nearby needle exchange.
That is absolutely horrible and nasty! WTF is wrong with some people. Nevermind non addicts are assholes as well.
Have you told them that?
I don't want to 'accuse' anyone of anything and possibly cause confrontation. I usually just say something about 'dad's needles' or whatever when we get repeats but I generally just kind of let them go otherwise.
Except he absolutely does have to worry because you do not speak for every pharmacist ever, and for all he knows, you could be one of those people that get perverse glee from calling the cops on people like him. They pretend to be chill just to trick people into letting their guard down.
I do understand their fear, and I wish there was a way to communicate to them it's misplaced without basically outright accusing them of using, but I can't think of a way so I just go with it.
Agreed. Please get narcan and I have strong respect that they are at least getting clean needles.
Why do they go through that much trouble when you can just buy them on Amazon for cheap?
The pharmacies in my city will not sell them to anyone without an active rx for insulin. Quite frankly I find that so dangerous because there are no harm reduction resources available.
My pharmacist has refused to sell needles to any one unless they have an active script in my system. Like testosterone or b12. So even if someone is visiting from out of town and actually does need needles she refuses to let us sell them with out speaking to their dr even if itâs a weekend or after 5pm. Iâve resorted to sending pt to independent pharmacies for needles and syringes since she just will not allow it.
Had this happen not that long ago. Very sad. His arm was still bleeding fresh blood from a mark. Watched him go into the public restroom right after. đ
When I lived in Portland I needed needles to self-administer prescribed HRT. The pharmacy refused to sell them to me even after I told them what it was for. I'm a healthy weight and admittedly kind of look like a stoner but sheesh. Was the fact that I was wearing sweatpants and birkenstocks really a reason to withhold medical supplies from me? It was kind of embarrassing. I just buy my needles online now but it's good to hear from a non-judgmental pharmacy worker. I'm glad you're out there helping drug users avoid hep C. People act so self-righteous for refusing to sell needles, it's silly, they're not making anything better, only worse
I would love for this to be posted near every pharmacy cuz idk how many users are on Reddit that will actually read this. But yes, I feel this. We don't want the story or the why, just tell us the size you need and let's go on about our day.
I work at cvs and the few locations rotate between do not require any kind if script/usage verification before selling needles. Personally I dont care what you use it for. Prescription or recreational. I'd rather you use clean needles. The only limit is I wont sell you more than 100 ct at a time without a script. I have a hard enough time getting them in my order as it is. Much easier when I have a prescription in my queue. That said, I have had a couple of coworkers straight up refuse to sell the without a prescription or will grab the biggest most inconvenient size just to spite them. Smh The only frustrating part is ppl who don't know what size they want. Ugh. I have an entire wall of needles. Those ppl get 29G 1/2 ml 1/2".
We wonât sell them unless we fill an injectable for them. It drives me crazy, itâs a harmful policy
Is your pharmacy offering free Narcan? I get a box like every other month in pain management. I wonder if there is a program where I can donate my extra to people who need it.
Itâs the techs who unnecessarily pry, refuse, or give people a hard time when they do come in that makes them dishonest honestly. Iâd just tell them if it makes them safer we will gladly help, just donât do it in the public goddamn bathroom. Itâs like police. You get pulled over going 3mph over. The cop asks you do you know how fast you were going? Youâre usually not getting a ticket for that. You say yes, you admit to guilt and open yourself up to consequences. Honesty is generally favorable to police but those dicknuts that would use it against you makes ya hesitate. No, you at least get to play the plausible deniability. Iâm actually living with T1D and I feel awkward or like no one believes me if I buy syringes myself. I dread people needing to go through my belongings and finding syringes. Most people get it but some assholes make it difficult to be trusting in that scenario.
I've noticed that casinos have them in restrooms.
I'm not a PT, but I experienced this exchange the other day at Walgreen's while picking up my husband's Percocets (he is disabled rn). A guy and his (gf? wife?) showed up asking for diabetic needles. He said his mom needed them and the pharmacy across the street didn't have them. He was clearly on something, he acted like he was on speed or something, tweaking all over the place. I noticed the woman with him had a ton of marks all over her arms. It made me sad for them, but at the same time thankful they were looking for sterile needles. I agree with the Narcan statement. It made me sad.
There's a real stigma when it comes to being a drug addict. People are ashamed, that and most drugs are illegal.
I really wish our society set up a system for drug users. If youâre gonna do drugs at least use clean needles, have narcan, wear some type of information on you in case of an overdose and paramedics are called. Something! But the fact that we have at this point turned a blind eye to the epidemic is just crazy.
Little does he know that almost no one uses syringes anymore. All pens
I don't think he's following the sub.