Is this Illegal?

[mflinchb]

Hello,

I am obviously not a Pharmacy Student/Pre-Pharmacy student, but I have a couple questions for someone with more Pharmacy knowledge than I will ever know:

Ok so my roommate's Mother is a Pharmaceutical sales rep (or something like that) and gets boxes upon boxes of samples which my roommate says "she distributes these samples to doctors to try to get them to use them on their patients". Now I don't know how much is true, but nonetheless-- my question:

My roommate has drawers full of these samples (some are quite large samples-- over 30 some pills) and other various prescriptions with no Rx label on them- ranging from pre-natal vitamins (she's not pregnant) to antibiotics to ADD medication. She recently got very ill due to mixing prescriptions as well as drinking alcohol and blames her mother for not telling her.. wouldn't it be more simple for her to actually be prescribed the medication and then be told by the doctor or pharmacist to make sure these are safe? I am just curious as to if her Mother can get in a lot of trouble for something like this or if she could.

Thanks for your time!

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[type b pharmD]

Hello,

I am obviously not a Pharmacy Student/Pre-Pharmacy student, but I have a couple questions for someone with more Pharmacy knowledge than I will ever know:

Ok so my roommate's Mother is a Pharmaceutical sales rep (or something like that) and gets boxes upon boxes of samples which my roommate says "she distributes these samples to doctors to try to get them to use them on their patients". Now I don't know how much is true, but nonetheless-- my question:

My roommate has drawers full of these samples (some are quite large samples-- over 30 some pills) and other various prescriptions with no Rx label on them- ranging from pre-natal vitamins (she's not pregnant) to antibiotics to ADD medication. She recently got very ill due to mixing prescriptions as well as drinking alcohol and blames her mother for not telling her.. wouldn't it be more simple for her to actually be prescribed the medication and then be told by the doctor or pharmacist to make sure these are safe? I am just curious as to if her Mother can get in a lot of trouble for something like this or if she could.

Thanks for your time!

dispensing medication to somebody without being either a healthcare practitioner or a pharmacist is illegal. dispensing controlled substances more than just a one time use (which practitioners can do in certain circumstances) without being a pharmacist is illegal.

if she has a condition she's using the drugs for, im sure a healthcare practitioner would be happy to write a real prescription for her after reviewing her symptoms. why not do this instead??? it's much safer.

the illegality is probably less of a worry for you than the safety of it. it's not like the DEA is going to bust down your door anytime soon for a few sample packs, but seriously, getting "very ill" is only a step away from dying. If she had died, imagine how you or her mother would feel!! If she had a regimen for the drugs and a pharmacist who could instruct her on their use, she would get the benefits of the drugs without the risks from misuse or lack of knowledge! STRONGLY encourage her to talk to a healthcare provider, even if it's just walking into the local pharmacy and asking for more information about the drugs she's taking. but in the end she really needs a prescription

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

dispensing medication to somebody without being either a healthcare practitioner or a pharmacist is illegal. dispensing controlled substances more than just a one time use (which practitioners can do in certain circumstances) without being a pharmacist is illegal.

if she has a condition she's using the drugs for, im sure a healthcare practitioner would be happy to write a real prescription for her after reviewing her symptoms. why not do this instead??? it's much safer.

the illegality is probably less of a worry for you than the safety of it. it's not like the DEA is going to bust down your door anytime soon for a few sample packs, but seriously, getting "very ill" is only a step away from dying. If she had died, imagine how you or her mother would feel!! If she had a regimen for the drugs and a pharmacist who could instruct her on their use, she would get the benefits of the drugs without the risks from misuse or lack of knowledge! STRONGLY encourage her to talk to a healthcare provider, even if it's just walking into the local pharmacy and asking for more information about the drugs she's taking. but in the end she really needs a prescription

Yeah, its illegal. The DEA is not going to do much about it since people giving other people drug samples from their own bottle is pretty common.

 

[PharmDstudent]

drug rep ≠ physician





I have to go churn out a journal club assignment. Bummer...

 

[fhx06]

Did your roommate obtain them from her mom without her mom giving consent or knowing about it? Well, either way, her mom will be get into trouble and possibly the company she works for.

On the flip side, how many of us know people who take medications without fully understanding the potential side effects, purpose of the medication, etc? I had this floormate freshman year who would pop Tylenol for headaches and Advil for muscle pain, sometimes within an hour of one another because he thought the medications targeted different parts of the body.

 

[yatzek]

this is so illegal, lol!
your room mate shouldn't tell anyone if they want their mother to keep her job