The junkies I've seen wait until they already have the RX, needles, etc. to smile. Then they have a mood swing of 180[SIZE=-1]°, because they've been "hassled".[/SIZE]
Maybe there's a new low? I can't believe people get excited before you tell them yes!
Assumption #1 that she's a junkie and not just using the syringe for a car problem or whatever the use.
Assumption #2- a corollary of #1- is that dgroulx's version of what she saw was actually what had happened. And that a wink really meant I'm putting one over on the pharmacist, versus a regular 'hey honey!'". Sounds to me like a wink for whatever the reason is a deal-breaker these days in health care, eh?
It's important to spot abusers and be vigilant, but at least with regards to controlled substance law, you can't look at every patient as a junkie until proven otherwise. It's in the case-law. Hypervigilance and keeping people from their medications/supplies could end up in dismissal or a courtroom just as much. Pharmacists have actually
lost cases regarding being hypervigilant of every prescription. Suppose the patient, or mother actually did have diabetes and couldn't get a syringe that day because you refused to sell it. They'd want to know why, and if the only argument is that a girl was winking at her boyfriend (which happens a lot), that's not really too solid of grounds to stand on... 'She winked at her bf, therefore, she was a drug abuser'. If I were the plaintiff's attorney, I'd rip into that so bad... heh
If you think about it (and many states actually did in their public health laws)- that even if it were a drug abuser- that you'd be doing more of a
disservice to the public health of a community by NOT dispensing a normal quantity of syringes than if you did dispense them. There will always be liability in either direction, so that's why it's good when there're laws on the books to direct you, versus personal and pseudo-professional judgements about whether someone is a drug abuser or not from a one time conversation. You'd be surprised who the real drug abusers are. Is it part of the curriculum at your school?
And whoever said 'no' and 'undecided' to a question that says 'if your state law allows it'. Laws, for the most part, direct actions. Those folks would be willing to break the law over this? And not dispense syringes to someone without an Rx- even if that person is in need of them? At the very least, that would increase your liability geometrically. wow...