DRUG CONTAINER LAW ANOTHER PILL TO SWALLOW

Mixing Of Medications In The Same Bottle Can Be A Misdemeanor

It's one of those laws people either don't know or think about. But many
break it every day when they mix prescription medications in the same
container.

"People call us all the time because they mixed their medications together
and then forgot which pill was for what and they want us to tell them what
the pills are," said Bill Nunn, a pharmacist at Winn-Dixie Pharmacy on
Whitesburg Drive.

It's not uncommon, he said, for people to put eight to 10 different
medications in the same container.

People do it mainly for convenience, but it can be dangerous if someone
gets confused and takes the wrong dosage of certain medications, said Nunn.

It's also against Alabama law.

However, officers aren't out looking for people toting around a variety of
pills in one bottle. But if they come across it while investigating another
crime - technically, charges could be filed.

A controlled narcotic authorized by a physician must be in a properly
labeled container - the way it was received from a doctor or pharmacy. If
not, a person could be charged with a misdemeanor, said Huntsville police
investigator Larry Crocker.

If someone has a scheduled narcotic - including drugs like most pain pills,
anti-psychotics or anti-depressants - without a prescription, the person
could face felony charges.

"If a person has a scheduled narcotic but does not a prescription for it,
nine times out of 10 that person will be arrested," Crocker said.

Officers sometimes call physicians or pharmacists to verify whether a
person has a prescription for a drug they have.

At home, people can do whatever they want. If they want to pour out all of
their prescription medications on the kitchen table and leave them there,
that's within the law, Crocker said. But once people leave their home with
medication, the law says it must be in a properly marked container.

Technically, even the containers used to separate medications for each day
of the week are against the law if used outside the home, even though they
are often a good idea for many people.

"Those containers are good, especially for elderly people," Nunn said. "A
lot of times, it's the safest or best way for them to keep track of what
they're taking."

But those containers can present a problem in an emergency if not properly
marked, said pharmacist Robert Fortner of Rite-Aid Pharmacy on Winchester Road.

"It can be a problem for an EMT or paramedic if they can't tell what's in
the container," he said.

Keep List Of Medicines

A list or some type of identification of the medication inside the
container should be kept with the container, he said.

"Several of the pills people take look so similar, there are so many little
white tablets that people take that it's easy to get them mixed up,"
Fortner said. "It's real easy to dump them all in one bottle . . . I've
done it myself."

Although that practice is against the law, Fortner believes the real danger
is in people taking the wrong dosage of medication.

Crocker said officers use common sense when faced with such a situation.
The laws are designed, he said, to catch people buying prescription drugs
on the streets.

Illegal Users

"Plus, the average person abusing narcotics is not going to keep it in a
seven-day planner," Crocker said. "They'll have it in a cellophane wrapper
like it came in. Or, if they've gotten the medication illegally in a
container with someone else's name it, they'll get rid of the container and
keep the pills somewhere else."

It's just a good practice, Crocker said, to keep prescription medication in
its original container. All the time.