severely etarded;11037944 said:
Aren't painkillers OTC there in the UK?
hydrocodone/apap solution is schedule III narcotic here in the US. Most pharmacists here will give you dirty looks unless you are wincing in pain...
They are insane with the harder stuff like oxycodone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, etc.
you really need to know a pretty cool doctor to get opiate scripts here in the US. You can't just walk in any clinic and get them.
I believe that both codeine and dihydrocodeine formulations (with drug combination, and restricted dosage formulations) is available with out a prescription at the pharmacists discretion in the UK, but I may be mistaken on the dihydrocodeine or the general rules as I'm not from the UK.
I've honestly never had any pharmacists give me looks for any opioid painkiller I've been prescribed in the USA, especially no dirty looks or inquisitions surrounding purchasing CIII hydrocodone/APAP (though I haven't filled to many of hydrocodone/APAP scripts) or non-scheduled in the states I've lived in, Tramadol. Even CII opioid painkiller, methadone (which I've been picking up for a neuro condn. from a couple of pharmacies in TX over the last 11 months) I haven't had really any dirty looks, which kinda does surprise me, I'll admit - I know people who were refused to have their methadone scripts filled at pharmacies and told to go to a methadone clinic (they had legit paper scripts that didn't say they were for opioid maintenance therapy). Even with having the knowledge that I am prescribed a benzodiazepine as well as amphetamines prescribed to me in their computer system, they never seem to falter in anyway when filling methadone for me. I'm a white 23 year old male, but don't I guess look very sketchy to the pharmacists, so they let me get my scripts no problem. The people who were refused to have their scripts filled were people who did honestly look a little sketchier than me (like junkies).
Doctors are pretty damn strict when handing opioid painkillers out unless you go to one of the 'corrupt' doctors out there (pill mill docs, which are really cracked down on) in the USA. Clinics especially really don't like to prescribe them, with codeine being the max (tramadol as an alternative if allergic to codeine or they just prefer prescribing it first). Cough syrups are usually mixed so heavily with other drugs that recreational doses besides maybe for the non-tolerant/non-experienced user, are dangerous to attempt with out either massive discomfort or damage to the body. Family doctors really don't like to prescribe opioids, and will generally refer you to specialists if their may be some reasons for opioid painkillers. Surgeons will hand out opioids after a surgery, but usually just one script (with the potentially for one phone call in to write another smaller script), but they are handing out the painkillers for good reason.
Higher potency opioids like oxycodone (in non-APAP formulations), oxymorphone, morphine, hydromorphone, etc., are not really ever handed out from your regular doc (clinic, family, non-specialist), and reserved for chronic pain patients or cancer patients. They are really really watched.
bmxxx;11084566 said:
Pharmacies are useful in the same way any specialized store is useful- it's the permission slips and legality that piss me off. I don't wanna see CVS and other pharmacies gone, i just want to ultimately hold the final say on what's okay for me. If the guy at the counter tells me i probably don't have true add and don't need that desoxyn, or that tylenol is more 'normal' for a sprained finger, that's great but it should be limited to advice and not the ability to refuse the sale because it's illegal.
/just woke, sorry if that's choppy but think it makes sense
//i cannot recall saying there was any need for the DEA...apologies if you read that into a post of mine. *IF* the DEA were needed, it is most certainly not in its current form or anything remotely resemblant of it.
///resemblant doesn't appear to be a word
I agree pharmacies have their place. Even in a a drug legalized nation that regulates most drugs, but yet still allows the sale of previously illegal drugs through them (under some regulations), I could potentially see them working. -> The specific workings would need to be worked out of course, but I do like the idea of drugs being sold at locations that adhere to specific controls. Drugs need to be in recognized dosages, formulations, etc., and sold so they aren't mixed up or have the potential for deadly consequences because of their carelessness. <> With a system that we currently have, pharmacies of course still have their place, but sadly like what is seen to happen their are boundaries that are over stepped by pharmacists. Drugs shouldn't be refused based on morality. The pharmacists should still have the ability to refuse the sale of drugs, but for the purpose of catching health concerning drug combinations that the doctor missed. They need to let the doctors decisions not be made hindered, unless there is a serious reason why, which doesn't include their personal beliefs on what drugs should be use for x condition.
In some ways I even understand the DEA (having studied the pharmacy system unlike most people, I do see their purpose and where they may do some good, even with them being a terrible entity as a whole). Someone needs to be a higher governing authority over pharmacies (which they are) to make sure that the FDAs laws are being followed. They just need to have some limits on their power, and the scheduled drug system really needs some hardcore changing.
Also the FDA does alot of good and shouldn't ever be removed. They aren't enforces, but they are the ones the put the laws into place. A lot of the laws helps the public, all the way from how a drug is put to market to the rules and regulations for the manufactures of drugs.
