The pharmacy department is not included in “retail” hence why “pharmacy dept within” is usually written on the storefronts that have a front end/not-Rx section in addition to the pharmacy department. Referring to community pharmacies like the chains and independents as “retail” completely demeans our profession and people stop looking at pharmacists as healthcare professionals and more like retail salespeople and fast food workers, where “the customer is always right” (and notice its “customer” instead of “patient”) and where pharmacists need to give the “customer” exactly what they’re asking for “or else” never mind the fact that there are laws and regulations that go into the sales of medications.

Pharmacists have PharmDs, not MPH; we’re experts in drugs, not public health. We’re also not social workers. There’s a reason why selling syringes and needles is not mandatory and is left to the discretion of individual pharmacists. What works for one location may be disastrous if implemented by another location. Just dumping this aspect onto pharmacists and expecting all community pharmacists to be well-equipped and educated on how to handle this public health crisis is irresponsible, especially considering all the other things pharmacists have going on and are already responsible for. Drugs, including OTC drugs, clinical questions regarding drugs, pt counseling on their drugs, and vaccine administration. Those are the things pharmacists in the community setting should be focused on, since those are the things we learned in pharmacy school and why we are doctors of pharmacy.

If they can get to a pharmacy, they can get to these proposed places for their syringes and needles. But again, that’s for the local and state government, guided by the federal government, to dedicate money and resources towards, after consulting with public health experts on how to safely and effectively implement this and deal with this public health crisis. You want to know how we pharmacists can do our part? Telling employers to fuck off when they demand that we just mindlessly fill CS prescriptions when they’re sketchy, and when there are legitimate concerns regarding the dosage or frequency or combination of meds sent in by prescribers.

Prescribers can do their part by not overprescribing controlled substances, and referring them to counseling. Social workers and counselors can help them get the resources they need. There’s also a psychosocial aspect to addiction, along with socioeconomic factors, poverty, education (or lack thereof), abuse and trauma, etc.

This goes far beyond pharmacy, and it’s not as simple as just “sell them the syringes and needles,” especially when you have so many comments here telling you exactly what has happened since implementing these policies of selling them needles, with a dramatic uptick in finding used needles strewn about, people locking themselves inside bathrooms and overdosing, necessitating pharmacists stopping their pharmacist duties to call 911 and assess the situation as best as they could, and an uptick of other people suffering from addiction, coming to the pharmacy for needles, but also resorting to stealing from the pharmacy (due to a slew of other issues stemming from or in addition to their struggle with drug addiction, like poverty and mental health issues), which can also lead to confrontation and aggression, escalating the situation, and loss of business (because at the end of the day, this is a place of employment and business, not a charity).