http://www.southbendtribune.com/sbt-dramatic-surveillance-video-shows-berrien-county-pharmacist-shooting-at-suspect-20110908,0,995580.htmlstory

Here's an interesting story.  A couple of masked gunmen entered a Walgreen's in Grand Rapids in the committing of a hate crime, holding guns to an employee.  But the did not count on another employee, Jeremy Hoven, pulling out a .45 and blasting away.  The assailants made a quick retreat.

In return for his quick thinking, Walgreen's fired Mr. Hoven, and he is now suing.

Mr. Hoven is a hero.  8)  My only criticism of him, if any, would be that unfortunately none of his bullets hit their target.

This was not the first time Mr. Hoven was held up by armed robbers.  The last time it happened, in 2007, he requested that a 'panic button' be installed, but Walgreen's refused.  So he went out and got himself a rod.

Walgreens, by their action, has essentially put a sign out in front of every store they have which says "armed robbers welcomed".  ::)

Sounds like all three of 'em need some target practice.  Three guns at close quarters and nobody gets hit!
:-\\

Sounds like all three of 'em need some target practice.  Three guns at close quarters and nobody gets hit!
:-\\


Yeah, sort of like an A-Team episode. 

http://www.gigallery.com/files/gigallery/6696f5e016581a2b2827e18e5cbea95c/imagen05.jpg

Yeah, sort of like an A-Team episode. 

http://www.gigallery.com/files/gigallery/6696f5e016581a2b2827e18e5cbea95c/imagen05.jpg


;D

Sorry, we've been watching a lot of A-Team as of late, so I'm just laughing my ass off at this.

Yep, we have the same policy...just hand over the drugs.  The thought of it actually kinda freaks me out when I think of it, but we're not open overnight and most of these happen at night so it doesn't worry me too much.

What DOES worry me is a situation we have going on where a "drug seeker" was calling in fraudulent prescriptions to our pharmacy as well as others in the area.  They were busted by another pharmacy AND the doctor's office (who was notified by multiple pharmacies), and now everyone who dealt with any of them in any way might have to give statements and testify in court (if it goes that far). Our identities might be kept private if we only have to give statements since she made threats of violence against "the effing narks", so I'm hoping that's all that happens :-\\

Yep, we have the same policy...just hand over the drugs.  The thought of it actually kinda freaks me out when I think of it, but we're not open overnight and most of these happen at night so it doesn't worry me too much.

What DOES worry me is a situation we have going on where a "drug seeker" was calling in fraudulent prescriptions to our pharmacy as well as others in the area.  They were busted by another pharmacy AND the doctor's office (who was notified by multiple pharmacies), and now everyone who dealt with any of them in any way might have to give statements and testify in court (if it goes that far). Our identities might be kept private if we only have to give statements since she made threats of violence against "the effing narks", so I'm hoping that's all that happens :-\\


Heck here in Picksburgh we had one of our local state legislators who got pinched kiting his Xanax prescription.  The 'script was originally for 30 tablets but he altered it to read "180"  :o.  Apparently he did not think that the pharmacist would not question the quantity.  :P

Additionally he doctor shopped... got  two different scripts... kited them both... and got caught both times.   ;D

Heck here in Picksburgh we had one of our local state legislators who got pinched kiting his Xanax prescription.  The 'script was originally for 30 tablets but he altered it to read "180"  :o.  Apparently he did not think that the pharmacist would not question the quantity.  :P

Additionally he doctor shopped... got  two different scripts... kited them both... and got caught both times.   ;D


Sure help his re-election campaign!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/10/vogel.gif

Heck here in Picksburgh we had one of our local state legislators who got pinched kiting his Xanax prescription.  The 'script was originally for 30 tablets but he altered it to read "180"  :o.  Apparently he did not think that the pharmacist would not question the quantity.  :P

Additionally he doctor shopped... got  two different scripts... kited them both... and got caught both times.  ;D
We actually see scripts for 180...of course, they're 90-day scripts for twice a day dosing. No doctor is going to prescribe 6 pills/day or write a script for 6 months worth like that!

We actually see scripts for 180...of course, they're 90-day scripts for twice a day dosing. No doctor is going to prescribe 6 pills/day or write a script for 6 months worth like that!


"Uttering a forged instrument"

I always liked the sound of that!

I've heard of people serving time in the county lockup for forging prescriptions, though usually in the wake of other disreputable acts. 

Once "substance abuse" gets entered into your medical records, it's hard to get scrips for controlled drugs.  I got marked a such because I was taking more Ativan than my scrip allowed.  I was under extreme duress at the time.  I wasn't doing it to get off.  I can understand why the nurse practitioner made the note, but she made it sound like I was some kind of pavement-hugging junkie.  I later got the psychiatrist she worked for to expunge the record himself.  I explained it was a short-term license I took and I had not become dependent, which was the truth.  A person with my medical condition can't afford to have the availability of pharmaceuticals compromised.
::)

When my Mum was in the nursing home they gave her some Ativan and it darn near knocked her out.  That was some powerful stuff.

When my Mum was in the nursing home they gave her some Ativan and it darn near knocked her out.  That was some powerful stuff.


It depends on the dose and the patient.  5 mg of Ativan would send most anybody on a nice nap.

As with all benzodiazepines (Ativan, Xanax, Valium, Klonopin) you build up a tolerance quickly.  The two that I took for long periods are Konopin and Valium.  When I first started taking the Klonopin, I would cut my dose in 1/2 to 0.5 mg.  Even that was sedating.  One time I sneaked into a utility closet at work and took a nap!  I took Valium for a couple of years.  I got to one steady does.  It didn't make me sedate or euphoric, but it was a good anxyolitic.  However, when I had change insurance, my new psychiatrist refused to prescribe it.  It's earned a deserved reputation for habituation and abuse.  That's why people kite prescriptions.  I never had a problem.  I found the anti-anxiety properties just as efficacious on a low dose over a long term.  I didn't have any trouble going off it either.  No cravings, no side effects.  I now take BuSpar and Vistril which are allegedly less habit forming.  Vistril makes awfully sleepy in the mornings.  Just another round in the medications musical chairs!

I love Ambien h.s.  Sleeping arrangements at my brother's house after the party, I wound up on a half-inflated air mattress with the cat coming around hassling me every five minutes.  That Ambien kicked in and a slept like a baby!  I could seep through a nuclear holocaust with that stuff!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/15/sleepy1.gif

It depends on the dose and the patient.  5 mg of Ativan would send most anybody on a nice nap.

As with all benzodiazepines (Ativan, Xanax, Valium, Klonopin) you build up a tolerance quickly.  The two that I took for long periods are Konopin and Valium.  When I first started taking the Klonopin, I would cut my dose in 1/2 to 0.5 mg.  Even that was sedating.  One time I sneaked into a utility closet at work and took a nap!  I took Valium for a couple of years.  I got to one steady does.  It didn't make me sedate or euphoric, but it was a good anxyolitic.  However, when I had change insurance, my new psychiatrist refused to prescribe it.  It's earned a deserved reputation for habituation and abuse.  That's why people kite prescriptions.  I never had a problem.  I found the anti-anxiety properties just as efficacious on a low dose over a long term.  I didn't have any trouble going off it either.  No cravings, no side effects.  I now take BuSpar and Vistril which are allegedly less habit forming.  Vistril makes awfully sleepy in the mornings.  Just another round in the medications musical chairs!

I love Ambien h.s.  Sleeping arrangements at my brother's house after the party, I wound up on a half-inflated air mattress with the cat coming around hassling me every five minutes.  That Ambien kicked in and a slept like a baby!  I could seep through a nuclear holocaust with that stuff!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/15/sleepy1.gif
And see, the ONLY one that ever worked for me was Xanax. Klonopin gives me headaches, Ativan wires me up, Valium took about 3x the "prescribed" dose, never took vistaril, and buspar was a BAD drug. I've been on .5 Xanax for about 3 years now and it just calms me down, but doesn't maker spacy or drowsy or anything. Ambien kept me up all night, as did Lunesta. The only "sleeping"med that works is Halcion 8)

BTW, I also had a DOCTOR put "DS" in my chart because I requested "vicoprofen" instead of vicodin one time. My point was that I had already TRIED Norco and he wanted me to take Vicodin AND ibuprofen at the same time! I simply said "isn't there something with hydrocodone & ibuprofen?". He tried to tell me that was MORE addictive than Vicodin ES ???  It's LESS hydro, LESS ibuprofen, & has NO acetaminophen (which sometimes upsets my stomach). Wouldn't you think it would be better to take LESS medication (particularly one that can cause LIVER DAMAGE when I ALREADY had liver issues AND a family history OD both cirrhosis AND liver cancer ?'?!

As with all benzodiazepines (Ativan, Xanax, Valium, Klonopin) you build up a tolerance quickly.  The two that I took for long periods are Konopin and Valium.  When I first started taking the Klonopin, I would cut my dose in 1/2 to 0.5 mg.  Even that was sedating.  One time I sneaked into a utility closet at work and took a nap!  I took Valium for a couple of years.  I got to one steady does.  It didn't make me sedate or euphoric, but it was a good anxyolitic.  However, when I had change insurance, my new psychiatrist refused to prescribe it.  It's earned a deserved reputation for habituation and abuse. 

Back in '76 I had some sort of flu thing going on, and for some reason the doc prescribed Valium for 10 days.  Crazy, I mean like WTF.  Anyway the day that the 'script was up, I had to take my Physics 202 final and holy cow was I screwed.

Couldn't work the keys, kept hitting "clear" when I was supposed to do the final calculation, etc.  So I said "F this" and resorted to hand calculations and trig tables.  Kicked ass on that test too, Aced it.  8)  But no more Valium for LB, that was weird.

Other than that escapade, prescription pilsl have never done anything for me.  When I had my knee drilled and when I had a kidney stone they gave me some Oxy but id didn't do a darned thing.  Although I gotta say, that mainline shot of Demerol  sent me flying high.  ;D

Back in '76 I had some sort of flu thing going on, and for some reason the doc prescribed Valium for 10 days.  Crazy, I mean like WTF.  Anyway the day that the 'script was up, I had to take my Physics 202 final and holy cow was I screwed.

Couldn't work the keys, kept hitting "clear" when I was supposed to do the final calculation, etc.  So I said "F this" and resorted to hand calculations and trig tables.  Kicked ass on that test too, Aced it.  8)  But no more Valium for LB, that was weird.

Other than that escapade, prescription pilsl have never done anything for me.  When I had my knee drilled and when I had a kidney stone they gave me some Oxy but id didn't do a darned thing.  Although I gotta say, that mainline shot of Demerol  sent me flying high.   ;D
I'm there with you...about the ONLY prescription painkiller (pill) that has ever done anything for me is the vicoprofen, anything with acetaminophen is worthless. I've also had some pretty strong ones as well and they don't do jack squat. Pretty much anything other than Dilaudid through IV makes me itch, toradol and demerol shots, though, are fine.

Oh, and my regular doctor has removed the "DS" status from my file because I explained to him what the situation was with the medication. He KNOWS my history with tylenol-based products so he had no problem removing it ;)

Back in '76 I had some sort of flu thing going on, and for some reason the doc prescribed Valium for 10 days.  Crazy, I mean like WTF.  Anyway the day that the 'script was up, I had to take my Physics 202 final and holy cow was I screwed.

Couldn't work the keys, kept hitting "clear" when I was supposed to do the final calculation, etc.  So I said "F this" and resorted to hand calculations and trig tables.  Kicked ass on that test too, Aced it.  8)  But no more Valium for LB, that was weird.

Other than that escapade, prescription pilsl have never done anything for me.  When I had my knee drilled and when I had a kidney stone they gave me some Oxy but id didn't do a darned thing.  Although I gotta say, that mainline shot of Demerol  sent me flying high.   ;D


5 mg of Valium might have done me some goods on those exams I was not ready for.  You get the little blue book.  You get the set of questions.  You open the blue book, position the pen, and read the first question.  I don't f**king know!  Move on the the next.  Is he giving the right exam to the right section?  Try the next one.  Oh, sheeeeyit!  I must have been absent that day.  Next.  Next.  Next.....I, I, I don't know ANYTHING!!!!  I chew through my ballpoint pen, considering faking a medical emergency.  No, that's not gonna fly.  Logic saves the day:  "Look, Maxwell, you're f**ked, right?  Right.  Dr. Grimes knows your f**ked, right? Right.  So what have you got to lose?  Put pen to paper and write.  Write anything.  Let the stone bullsh*t flow forth.  I filled two of those little blue books with my stream-of-confused-consciousness marathon.  I got a B -Minus on the exam!  Dr. Grimes bought it!

http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/12/hello2.gif

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL9-7AeFD5w
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/11/blob9.gif

Here's an interesting story.  A couple of masked gunmen entered a Walgreen's in Grand Rapids in the committing of a hate crime, holding guns to an employee.  But the did not count on another employee, Jeremy Hoven, pulling out a .45 and blasting away.  The assailants made a quick retreat.

What makes you call it a "hate crime"?


Just wondering.. if a pharmacy were to have a stock of emetic labelled up as morphine (or whatever is likely to be stolen)..

What makes you call it a "hate crime"?


Just wondering.. if a pharmacy were to have a stock of emetic labelled up as morphine (or whatever is likely to be stolen)..


I always say the drug war is unwinnable because people like to do drugs.  Human beings have a primal desire to alter their consciousnesses.  You don't need drugs to alter your consciousness.  Physical exertion, fasting, and prayer are ancient and time-tested methods of altering one's consciousness too; however, these have always required much more time and discipline than ingesting a substance.  Human beings have imbibed, eaten, smoked, absorbed, insufflated, and injected inebriating chemicals from neolithic times to present for pain relief, hypnosis, vigor, spiritual communion, and recreation.  It is not going to stop because the government makes laws against one thing or another.

The degree to which members of a culture harm themselves with poisons and addiction reflects the health of the culture.  The United States has more than 10%* of its population at any given moment taking prescription drugs to mitigate the symptoms of depression, anxiety, attention deficit, insomnia, and psychoses.  Nature versus nurture is still the controversy in the origin of mental illness.  I believe the proclivity for mental illness is heritable.  However, contemporary society exacerbates the degree to which depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia will precipitate in a vulnerable individual.  A culture that values commercial consumption and cheap thrills above spiritual communion and economic stability encourages egoism and savage competition among its members.  These traits are destructive for even hardy souls but it shreds minds susceptible psychiatric disorders.** 

The recreational drug of choice is still alcohol.  Alcohol is still legal and causes more physical ailments and destructive behavior than all the other drugs combined.  Marijuana comes in second.  While nowhere near as destructive as alcohol, marijuana inhibits motivation, promotes escapism, and numbs users to their true feelings.  The mental and behavioral problems increase commensurate with the psychiatric state of the user.  More habitual users self-medicate with pot than occasional users; however, I see plenty of habitual users lead productive lives.

Psychedelics, such as LSD, psilocybin, and peyote can be used to aid spiritual exploration and ritual.  In our culture they are thrill-seeking intoxicants.  We don't operate with same spiritual software as indigenous cultures who incorporated psychedelic substances into their religious and mystical rites for thousands of years.  A few spiritually disciplined individuals in our culture know how to use them as such (think Aldous Huxley, Richard Alpert, Humphrey Osmond) but most do not.

As for abuse of stimulants, opioids, and narcotics, this goes back to the human need to tweak his consciousness.  In an unhealthy society, man will do so in an unhealthy way.  Methamphetamines are the most extreme manifestation of this unhealthy society--unhealthy man continuum.  It is unfortunate the most violent element of the drug culture is now terrorizing pharmacists to get the chemicals they need for their trade.

Perhaps legalizing marijuana and making it more readily available would stanch some of the bleeding into the soul-destroying poisons on the streets.  However, I do believe we are stuck with escalating violence the more we try and deprive people of the consciousness-changing chemicals they demand.

*10% is low-balling it.  The true percentage is debatable.
**We may call into question just who has the psychiatric disorder -- the vicious or the fragile.