from
Deborah:
<Thank You Katie,
I'm apologize for posting what I did.
Deborah>
I do not need or expect an apology: I was providing information. I
actually do agree with those who advocate a means of donating unused
medication. It is a shame to waste all that (expensive) medication when
there are (poor) people who really could use that medication. If people want
to provide donated medication to others, they need to find a way to do it off
the list. And if they do that, they expose themselves, and not the list, to
questions of the legalities of their actions as well as
medical/pharmaceutical questions about the appropriateness, quality, and
shelf life of the medication.
I was not questioning the good intentions of the people involved in
the "donated prescription" thread; I was telling people on the list "to keep
in mind" that this activity is criminal, in my expert opinion, and that
people do get prosecuted, in my experience, for transferring even one or more
(prescription) pills. What people do with the information I have provided is
their choice/s. The bottomline, in my opinion, and in reading the guidelines,
is that the list should not be used for promoting criminal activity. And, on
a more humane level, we, as PWPs, have enough problems and stress without the
risks of getting involved in the criminal justice system because we donate
some unused medication. [There is also a misdemeanor law in Wisconsin where
the recipient of the donated drug can be charged] BTW I was a criminal
defense attorney and I defended people who were charged with this crime, in a
variety of circumstances, including a homicide where a person "donated" four
(prescription) pills to another and the second person died.
There are reasons why this law exists and there are reasons why one
should follow the law. There are also reasons why the law should be changed
or ignored, at least, in some circumstances. Deborah, as with everyone else
on this list, it is your choice what you are going to do with your unused
medication. I personally do not want to know what you are going to do with
your medication. I was/ am not chastizing you or anyone else for your
well-intentioned plans. I thought/think you needed to know that you (and
others on the list) were on the verge of criminal behavior. And I do not
think that donations or exchanges of medication should be done on the list.
This is a circumstance where the list, and individual posters, should
react appropriately to the information which I have provided, but I realize
that people will do what they will do anyway. This is also a circumstance
where the listowners should be involved, but I realize that they will
probably not do anything to clarify the appropriateness of using the list to
donate, or exchange, unused prescription drugs.
Thank you for your apology, Deborah, and thank you for listening and
understanding what I was saying. Katie
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