Oxycontin seems like the thieves drug of choice

I saw a great story on CNN last month about this pharmacist who picked out a man in a police lineup who had robbed his drugstore, only to find himself getting robbed at gunpoint AGAIN…. Just two hours later!

The drug everyone wants to steal for?  Oxycontin.  It’s a popular pain killer that is very easy to get hooked on and abuse.

This time, however, instead of handing over the drugs, the pharmacist pulled a Glock 19 hand gun which was locked and loaded with 15 hollow-point rounds and aimed it directly at the mans head.

“Down!”  He screamed.

The robber ran, obviously, and the pharmacist gave chase.

All of this got caught on camera.  And all for oxycontin.  Man, I hate drug abusers!

Check out the video on CNN now.

Husband and wife selling drugs from a diaper bag

Last week I read a story about some female pharmacy tech who stole a few hundred pills and sold them in the parking lot.  Now that was pretty damn stupid!

This, however, really takes the biscuit.  A husband and wife have been arrested after walking around town pushing strollers with their two kids in — all the while selling drugs from the kids diaper bags underneath the stroller.

The womans mother was a pharmacy technician who managed to steal over 12,000 Lortab pills.  She got charged with distribution, which is pretty much a jail sentence guaranteed.

The husband and wife have been charged with distribution of narcotics too and felony child endangerment.  I hope they take the kids off them, seriously!

Stories like this make me laugh because I honestly think that the pharmacy technician salary I get is so good that I would never risk it by stealing drugs!  There are too many systems in place to get away with it.  Not only that, but it’s morally wrong.

Then again, every time I see a photo of the criminals, I realize why they did.  They are stupid!

Get certified as a pharmacy tech in 13 weeks in Columbia State

While some courses say they can have you qualified and in a pharmacy in 6 months to a year, a new certificate program by the Columbia State Community College’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development will help you earn a pharmacy technician certification in 13 weeks.

Better still, those of you in the area will quality for immediate employment in Tennessee’s booming health industry.

This is perfect for making successful careers for many of the local community, after so many people lost jobs in the economic downturn.

Also, they do something that I wish schools near me had done when I was becoming a certified pharmacy technician: they offer classes in the evening.

From 6pm to 9.30pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays from late June to Mid August — this course looks really good for any of you who are residents in that area.
It took me longer than that to get qualified with an online course!

Alberta will regulate all pharmacy technicians from July 1st

This doesn’t affect me because, well, I’m not in Alberta, but it is pretty interesting.

As of July 1st, all pharmacy technicians will be regulated.  The idea is that it will standardize training for techs and give them more responsibility.  The end goal is to free up the pharmacists time to spend more time with patients at the counter.

As a pharmacy technician, my thoughts are mixed on this.  Yes, I think it will give the patients better care and it is a better use of resources, but what I really want to know is how this will affect the pharmacy technician salary?

Also, it could be a recipe for mistakes as the pharmacists I have worked with can and do miss things.  Patients getting the wrong drugs and/or dose is definitely bad news all around.
It seemed to work out for Ontario though after they introduced it last fall.  I guess time will tell on this one.

What do you think?