Ashworth Pharmacy Technology Instructor Discusses Your Role In Preventing Prescription Abuse…

Thanks to Javier Belmont for permission to use this Photo.

While working as a pharmacy technician, you will see that most muscle relaxants and hormones are available only as prescription (or legend) drugs. A few years ago, I was working at a retail store late on a Friday evening. A person walked slowly up to the pharmacy counter and asked me to sell him some carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant). Being pretty naïve, I asked for his name so I could pull up his refills on the computer. He replied, “I don’t have a prescription.” After I informed him that carisoprodol required a prescription, he left the pharmacy. Without a valid prescription I could neither provide the man with carisoprodol nor appropriately assess his intentions for use.

Be aware that, even though many muscle relaxants are not controlled substances, they do have the potential for being abused. You can perform a valuable service by assisting the pharmacist in monitoring the quantity and frequency of refills your customers purchase. If you notice a possible abuse situation, notify the pharmacist. If it’s a case of the original prescription being no longer adequate, it may be time for the patient’s doctor to try a higher dose or another medication altogether.

Tina Boyd Stacy
Pharmacy Technology Instructor
Ashworth University

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