alt Hacker News~~Pharmacists have no ability* to not dispense medicines if a doctor prescribes them.~~
_Edit: I am told I'm wrong on this front, and I stand corrected_
The fact that doctors are prescribing them too freely is definitely worth looking into.
But severely restricting medication that is used to effectively treat disease because it has abuse potential only harms legitimate users. But definitely worth auditing prescriptions to ensure that they're being issued for valid diagnoses.
But as for illegitimate users? You ban it, they'll find something else.
And as someone who needs ADHD meds to do things like "remember I have a todo list, remember where I left it, and remember to use it", I very much resent the people who abuse the meds I need to function in our society to pass their law degrees easier.
I resent the meth addicts who try to get an ADHD diagnosis for their kids so they can abuse (or sell...) their children's ADHD meds when they can't afford meth, because it means I have to pee into a jar every three months to prove I'm not a meth addict who is abusing methylphenidate.
(My country uses methylphenidate / Ritalin / Concerta (the slow release form) as the first treatment for ADHD, Adderall is not prescribed here that much, if ever, but it is possible to be prescribed dexamphetamine if you're bad enough).
But I really do object to glibly implying that every child who is prescribed a treatment for ADHD is actually a case of pharmacists gleefully overmedicating, it's naïve, unsympathetic, and, tbh, rather unfair to pharmacists.
As for what schedule a drug is... ...is the harm of Adderall abuse the same as the harm of fentanyl abuse?
Drug schedules aren't a good way to determine harm, IMO. They're a good way to discern moral panics though.
E.g., in my country, Class A, the drugs that attract the highest penalties, include magic mushrooms, mescaline, DMT, and that one you get from licking toads, bufotentine or something, alongside classics like heroin and cocaine.
Fentanyl is Class B, alongside opium, morphine, amphetamine, methylphenidate, MDMA, and one that always amuses me, hashish.
* There's probably some dumb-ass rules around declining to dispense abortifacients because of religious beliefs, I'm sure.
Replies
> Pharmacists have no ability* to not dispense medicines if a doctor prescribes them.
This is not true. Pharmacists have the right to not fill a prescription for a number of reasons, and in fact can be held liable for not doing so.
If they feel the use of the drug is medically inappropriate they can decide not to fill it. If they feel the patient is taking it for a non-medical reason (abuse) they can choose not to fill it.
Pharmacists are medical professionals who are expected to use their judgement to make sure medicines are not used inappropriately.
> ~~Pharmacists have no ability* to not dispense medicines if a doctor prescribes them.~~
As others said, it's not true. Pharmacists are also trained to spot any possible adverse drug interactions with other medications that you might be taking.
It more often happens in the clinical setting, rather than at retail pharmacies, but it still is a possibility.
> I very much resent the people who abuse the meds I need to function ... I resent the meth addicts ... it means I have to pee into a jar every three months to prove I'm not a meth addict who is abusing methylphenidate.
It's important to remember that no addict did this to you. An addict doesn't force Kaiser to charge me $20 when they demand I piss in a cup in order to receive my legally prescribed medication. It's fucking Kaiser, and the DEA, and the mad cap conservative politicians and their shitty fucking values. Drug addicts are suffering from a health problem, just like you and I are with our ADHD. None of us have the power to influence the massive engine of carceral drug policy and the promotion of mass moral panic about people taking medication that helps them.
It's important to point the anger at the right people.