PETITION TO APHA- please share/sign

[shutterfly]

Hi All,

I don't know if it is only me who is disillusioned with pharmacy organizations. I feel like our organization isn't even fighting for us. They have been talking about provider status since I was in school!!!!! (9 years and nothing has changed). And honestly I think there are a lot more issues they should be trying to push for but they don't.

One issue that has been on my mind is all these people (medical or recreational) being able to dispense Marijuana without a pharmacy license. Honestly I don't get it...Dronabinol (Synthetic THC- used as a appetite stimulator in chemotherapy patients) still needs to go thru a pharmacist because of the drug interactions that could possibly be involved then why (medical or recreational) is Marijuana not held up to the same standards. It doesn't matter if you agree or don't agree that weed should be legal- I am considering it from a safety aspect. Not only this, everyone is talking about how hard it is to find a job and how 20% of people will be unemployed in 2018- this would help to elevate the problem. Win-win in my book.

Attached is a link, I am planning to submit it to APHA and the other pharmacy organizations....hopefully it can be a more pressing issue


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/marijuana-distribution-under-supervision-of-a

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[gwarm01]

Never going to happen so long as marijuana remains a schedule 1 substance unfortunately. In the meantime, we'll just let some hippies sell it to patients while probably filling their heads with all off the woowoo stuff about weed curing cancer and all other ailments, being 100% beneficial with no drawbacks, side effects, drug interactions, or potential harm.

I think it's crap, personally. I think marijuana has the potential to be used as real and effective medicine, and it should be in the hands of actual health professionals.

 

[oldstock]

Hi All,

I don't know if it is only me who is disillusioned with pharmacy organizations. I feel like our organization isn't even fighting for us. They have been talking about provider status since I was in school!!!!! (9 years and nothing has changed). And honestly I think there are a lot more issues they should be trying to push for but they don't.

One issue that has been on my mind is all these people (medical or recreational) being able to dispense Marijuana without a pharmacy license. Honestly I don't get it...Dronabinol (Synthetic THC- used as a appetite stimulator in chemotherapy patients) still needs to go thru a pharmacist because of the drug interactions that could possibly be involved then why (medical or recreational) is Marijuana not held up to the same standards. It doesn't matter if you agree or don't agree that weed should be legal- I am considering it from a safety aspect.

Not only this, everyone is talking about how hard it is to find a job and how 20% of people will be unemployed in 2018- this would help to elevate the problem. Win-win in my book.

Attached is a link, I am planning to submit it to APHA and the other pharmacy organizations....hopefully it can be a more pressing issue


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/marijuana-distribution-under-supervision-of-a

Good post !!

I don't have high hope to see them to really do anything for pharmacists and the profession of pharmacy. Bc it is really all about the money if you cut out the BS...

Anyway, my calculation says 60% of new grads will be unemployed in 2022 based on 2014 AACP's data and BLS'.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...study-where-do-i-begin.1116122/#post-16075503

 

[zelman]

Hi All,

I don't know if it is only me who is disillusioned with pharmacy organizations. I feel like our organization isn't even fighting for us. They have been talking about provider status since I was in school!!!!! (9 years and nothing has changed). And honestly I think there are a lot more issues they should be trying to push for but they don't.

One issue that has been on my mind is all these people (medical or recreational) being able to dispense Marijuana without a pharmacy license. Honestly I don't get it...Dronabinol (Synthetic THC- used as a appetite stimulator in chemotherapy patients) still needs to go thru a pharmacist because of the drug interactions that could possibly be involved then why (medical or recreational) is Marijuana not held up to the same standards. It doesn't matter if you agree or don't agree that weed should be legal- I am considering it from a safety aspect. Not only this, everyone is talking about how hard it is to find a job and how 20% of people will be unemployed in 2018- this would help to elevate the problem. Win-win in my book.

Attached is a link, I am planning to submit it to APHA and the other pharmacy organizations....hopefully it can be a more pressing issue


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/marijuana-distribution-under-supervision-of-a

Do you thing grapefruit juice should only be sold in pharmacies, too?

 

[deleted390966]

Isn't marijuana legalized now?

 

[zelman]

Isn't marijuana legalized now?

No

 

[BMBiology]

I petition to abolish the APHA. How can an organization with only 1% pharmacist membership represents pharmacists?

 

[zelman]

I petition to abolish the APHA. How can an organization with only 1% pharmacist membership represents pharmacists?

So, we should probably abolish congress, too?

 

[BMBiology]

^ you elected them and therefore you can send them packing

 

[PolarPop]

You went to the wrong pharm school if you want to sell plants for a living.

 

[PharFromNormal]

Hi All,

I don't know if it is only me who is disillusioned with pharmacy organizations. I feel like our organization isn't even fighting for us. They have been talking about provider status since I was in school!!!!! (9 years and nothing has changed). And honestly I think there are a lot more issues they should be trying to push for but they don't.

One issue that has been on my mind is all these people (medical or recreational) being able to dispense Marijuana without a pharmacy license. Honestly I don't get it...Dronabinol (Synthetic THC- used as a appetite stimulator in chemotherapy patients) still needs to go thru a pharmacist because of the drug interactions that could possibly be involved then why (medical or recreational) is Marijuana not held up to the same standards. It doesn't matter if you agree or don't agree that weed should be legal- I am considering it from a safety aspect. Not only this, everyone is talking about how hard it is to find a job and how 20% of people will be unemployed in 2018- this would help to elevate the problem. Win-win in my book.

Attached is a link, I am planning to submit it to APHA and the other pharmacy organizations....hopefully it can be a more pressing issue


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/marijuana-distribution-under-supervision-of-a

Marijuana is schedule I under federal law. While Feds have stated they won't pursue medical and recreational use where permitted by state law it is still federally prohibited and has no accepted medicinal utility (or whatever they say schedule I drugs are). Marijuana in itself will most likely never be regulated as a prescription product because there is no standardization involved. Dronabinol is a specific measured dose of an active ingredient that has undergone significant and rigorous testing mandated by the FDA for approval. Due to the botanical nature of the product there is no standardization of dose of all active ingredients producing an effect. Federal legalization will require reclassification of marijuana and regulation similar to alcohol or tobacco and in that case can be dispensed without a pharmacist, who deals in FDA not ATF regulations.

 

[sosoo]

isn't it more important to have more tech hours? in busy stores ppl drop off prescription 1 day ago, they come in next day and it's still not ready. the label is still not even printed. and the promised time is for yesterday! or more common they drop off early in morning, come back late at night, and the label is still not even printed. and the promised time on the label whenever it gets printed is for the early morning! i believe having enough staffing is more important than provider status.

 

[confettiflyer]

Marijuana today is pretty much the old school practice of pharmacy back in the days before the FDA and other modern accoutrements. The dispensary guys and gals know their stuff, but it's a different world with a different dynamic subculture that should remain separate and distinct from what we do in the medical-industrial complex.

 

[297point1]

Marijuana today is pretty much the old school practice of pharmacy back in the days before the FDA and other modern accoutrements. The dispensary guys and gals know their stuff, but it's a different world with a different dynamic subculture that should remain separate and distinct from what we do in the medical-industrial complex.

Agree with fetti; after nearly 40+ years of efforts to remove pharmacognosy from pharmacy school curricula in favor of clinical pharmacy coursework, now there is interest in taking over marijuana dispensing? I know the high margins are tempting (hee hee...high), but for a profession where the ability to interpret generic interchangeability ratings gets messed up way too frequently and basic questions about OTC herbals lead to shoulder shrugs, we aren't collectively knowledgeable enough to take this on at this time. Leave it to the (alleged) experts.

 

[PharmNerdMatt]

I petition to abolish the APHA. How can an organization with only 1% pharmacist membership represents pharmacists?

I hear the 1% quoted a lot, but do you know where it comes from. I can only find that APhA has claims 60,000+ members, and the BLS claims about 287,000 "Pharmacist" jobs. I don't doubt that I am doing this wrong, just asking.

Also, the latest thing I could find said that the AMA only represents about 15% of practicing physicians and is falling every year. That really isn't very good, but they still have a lot more raw numbers and money making them much more influential.

 

[SpartanLaser]

APHA sucks balls. They are sponsored by the big 3 evil chains...u really think they would protect the rights of pharmacists?

 

[BMBiology]

I hear the 1% quoted a lot, but do you know where it comes from. I can only find that APhA has claims 60,000+ members, and the BLS claims about 287,000 "Pharmacist" jobs. I don't doubt that I am doing this wrong, just asking.

60,000+ members includes everyone and anyone. My guess is the majority of pharmacists that belong to APhA are in academia. Just look at the crap they are fighting for.

"Founded as the American Pharmaceutical Association on October 6, 1852, APhA today represents more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others interested in advancing the profession."

http://www.pharmacist.com/history-apha

 

[PharmNerdMatt]

60,000+ members includes everyone and anyone. My guess is the majority of pharmacists that belong to APhA are in academia. Just look at the crap they are fighting for.

"Founded as the American Pharmaceutical Association on October 6, 1852, APhA today represents more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others interested in advancing the profession."

http://www.pharmacist.com/history-apha

Just so I am clear, that means you are taking a guess at how many of the 62,000 are practicing pharmacists?

 

[BMBiology]

^ Yup, take away pharmacists in academia and student pharmacists, you are not going to have many real pharamcists in APhA. Practicing pharmacists care about working condition, not provider status. They have heard about this clinical dream when they were a student.

 

[zelman]

^ Yup, take away pharmacists in academia and student pharmacists, you are not going to have many real pharamcists in APhA. Practicing pharmacists care about working condition, not provider status. They have heard about this clinical dream when they were a student.

To further thin that herd, I'm sure the vast majority of those who are using their licenses are only members to get CE's and have no idea what APhA's political leanings are.

 

[pezdispenser]

60,000+ members includes everyone and anyone. My guess is the majority of pharmacists that belong to APhA are in academia. Just look at the crap they are fighting for.

"Founded as the American Pharmaceutical Association on October 6, 1852, APhA today represents more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others interested in advancing the profession."

http://www.pharmacist.com/history-apha

Well there are around 67,000 students enrolled across all four years in all the pharmacy schools according to the AACP. What percentage of students do you think are APhA members? Subtract this from the 62,000 total APhA members.

 

[BidingMyTime]

Well there are around 67,000 students enrolled across all four years in all the pharmacy schools according to the AACP. What percentage of students do you think are APhA members? Subtract this from the 62,000 total APhA members.

Given that, I think the 1% of pharmacists being members, is too high. I'd estimate 80-85% of pharmacy students are members of APHA.

As for the petition....petitions will go nowhere with APHA. APHA is not interested in what rank and file pharmacists want, which is why so very few are actually members of APHA (I would bet the few who are actually members, are members solely because their workplace reimburses their membership so they can go to midyear and check out potential residents.)

Even if APHA did actually endorse medical marijuana, the feds would not care one iota.
Marijuana....it will probably never be legally recognized on the federal level (just effectively decriminalized at the DEA ignores it in states that have legalized it), so for pharmacies/pharmacists to get involved, it would have to be the state boards allowing it.....in which case, you would need to petition state boards & get pharmacists from those states to sign your petition.

 

[MountainPharmD]

I petition to abolish the APHA. How can an organization with only 1% pharmacist membership represents pharmacists?

You've got my vote for that! Worthless doesn't begin to describe APHA...