Arizona city plans to fingerprint pharmacy customers

Arizona city plans to fingerprint pharmacy customers

www.rawstory.com

Facing a growing problem with prescription fraud, the Phoenix suburb of Peoria is considering an ordinance that would require people picking up prescriptions for commonly abused drugs to be fingerprinted.

The law, which would target prescriptions for painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet, would also require pharmacies to videotape everyone who comes to the prescription counter and keep the videotape for 60 days. Even people picking up a prescription for a family member would have to be fingerprinted.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Hmmm, there will likely be two differing opinions and standpoints on this one.

On the one hand, this is more ultra surveillance state, authoritorian invasion of privacy of civilians, particularly those who have never commited any type of abuse of this system.

On the other hand, this is an arena RIFE with all sorts of fraud, over-prescribing, folks selling these dangerous meds, etc., etc....

Where does one begin to clean this dangerous activity up? And what constitutes going overboard in this process? I would say the clean-up should BEGIN in the Dr.'s office, since many of these meds are being prescribed there like they were PEZ candy.

But things like finger-printing customers and video-taping everyone seem a little over the top to me.

Thoughts?



www.rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective
I would say the clean-up should BEGIN in the Dr.'s office, since many of these meds are being prescribed there like they were PEZ candy.

This may prove to be impossible since doctors and the pharmaceutical companies sleep in the same bed. It's nothing more than a racket.

I don't believe anyone who is law-abiding will have a problem with being fingerprinted. There is a problem of abuse and I believe that this may help to some extent. The ones that'll have a problem with it will be the ones that abuse the system.

Originally posted by Intelearthling

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective
I would say the clean-up should BEGIN in the Dr.'s office, since many of these meds are being prescribed there like they were PEZ candy.

I don't believe anyone who is law-abiding will have a problem with being fingerprinted. There is a problem of abuse and I believe that this may help to some extent. The ones that'll have a problem with it will be the ones that abuse the system.

You sir... Are wrong.

What happens when there is a theft at the store? Do you know the first that will be profiled? Those with Fingerprints on record.

It's just another way for the Government to get more of your Biometric data without it looking as such.

Sounds like yet another way to data mine citizens.

I bet those prints end up at the NSA in a permanent file.

Yep, I'm going with this as being a smokescreen to give a nice windfall of data mining to state and federal law enforcement agencies, or wherever it's final destination may be....

Because this law proposal won't stop criminals in the least , because they will just disguise themselves and go and rob the pharmacies anyway, maybe they will even have to pull the trigger more..

But I cannot see this stopping someone bent on getting a bottle of whatever they want.. These people making laws like these never learn, you could kill half of them and the other half would keep right on making the same laws without even blinking..

If this passes, it will be another law that only hurts law abiding citizens.

reply to post by Sovaka


I am with you. I have a problem with it. Just another damned usurpation of rights and conditioning of citizens to behave like sheep instead Citizens.

I got one thing to say beyond that: Mail order pharmacies.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


All this from the same state where white vigilantes shoot illegals dead.

Arizona should secede so the federal government can invade and re-annex their asses!

reply to post by Intelearthling


I'm not a drug abuser, and I would have a problem with this. It's all that can be done to get me to take an aspirin, but I still don't want to be fingerprinted by some random person in the pharmacy. With the way that biometrics is taking the world by storm these days, such a thing constitutes a huge risk in terms of both privacy and identity theft because those records are very likely not going to be very secure at all.

Aside from that, being fingerprinted usually happens when one is a suspected criminal or involved in something that requires a thorough background check. It puts a very bad taste in my mouth to have it done if I ever have an occasion to buy that sort of medicine.

Is it possible they are using this to combat their immigration problem and would this allow only US citizens to buy meds or could someone in the country illegally with no documentation be able to purchase narcotics? Don't want to derail and start a immigration debate, just curious.

reply to post by mtnshredder


No, because fingerprinting I assume, wouldn't give them instant feedback as to the the persons citizen status.
It would just be a record kept of that transaction to associate a fingerprint to your record.

At which point, they may then decide, since this is the fingerprint on record, if your fingerprint doesn't match in the future (IE Cut/scar) you may not be allowed to buy said prescription.

The more of these "pesky", "annoying" and inconveniencing laws they pass, the more people are going to want the chip for its "convenience" and "ease of use".

Good strategy.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


ITA these doctors just freely hand meds out like they ARE candy..I do don't even want to get going on this.....Its personal and this is a subject that makes me angry.I will say tho....they ARE the ones that need to be regulated on what they are giving people.We know tho that will never happen.....They take a oath to do no harm and yet they are harming millions daily by prescribing to many unnecessary meds.to kids and adults.

I bet fingerprinting will end up in every state for prescription pain killers..I'm on the fentanyl patch ..this is what happened to me the Dr was sending the script by mail to my pharmacy..someone at the post office was nabbing that script he was looking through the envelope in the light and taking it to the cities and having it filled by his girlfriend ..I had 3 scripts this happen to now i have to go to the clinic show my licence and sign my name that i picked it up then take it to my pharmacy to be filled

I have a novel idea! Why don't we concentrate on actual crimes being committed instead of acting on suppostion(Everyone is suspect). Stop legislating and start enforcing existing laws.

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective
On the one hand, this is more ultra surveillance state, authoritorian invasion of privacy of civilians, particularly those who have never commited any type of abuse of this system.

That's how I feel.

I don't have any convictions and just today I received a police check required for a new job I got. It feels like they are criticising me for not paying them more and giving them my fingerprints. They are implying the 100 point ID check I had to provide them was somehow not enough.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/326b3592a9bd.jpg[/atsimg]

How can they even identify me by fingerprints when they don't have them on file to begin with?!!!

Originally posted by Intelearthling
I don't believe anyone who is law-abiding will have a problem with being fingerprinted.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong. I have a big problem with it.

Well, DD, my first thought, is maybe these Doctors who are over prescribing patients, isn't meant to be fraud, or "fueling " someones dependency. I see it more, like for example, I now live in a small town, and with the small town mentality, ie..everyone knows each other, knows each others kids etc...the doctors here, ( speaking from exp), dont believe in providing a service, then make you come in to get your results, all so they can charge you again. No here, in this small town, the give you your results over the phone.
My point is, is that these doctors here in this small town, understand that the corporate insurance companies are taking advantage of the patient. SOooo, they prescribe drugs that would usually be a month to month basis, now offering say, a three month or even longer. Its not the doctors fault if the patient makes the choice to abuse said drugs.
I for one, enjoy the small town offerings. I dont have to waste another co-pay just to receive my results.
But I don't know DD, I think your right, the two options you posed, to bring an interesting debate to the table~

reply to post by Intelearthling


Actually I am not currently on any prescription medicine of any kind. I still have a problem with this. What is finger printing and video taping going to do? It will acomplish absolutely nothing unless you set up a governmental group to watch over these things and comb through the records. Then you have the government keeping a list of who is on what and who prescribed it. That is none of the governments business.

There was once this idea that the government was supposed to stop at a person's front door. I think that should still apply. It should definitely apply to the medications I take in my home. It should also apply to my interactions with my doctor. There is supposed to be an expectancy of doctor - patient confidentiality. Laws like this through it completely out of the window.

The better response would be to decriminalize certain "illicit drugs" and regulate them. Then you would eliminate a big percentage of the people abusing prescription medications. That will never happen though. There is more money to be made, by bueruacrats and their buddies, by ratcheting up the big brother act.

Apparently, the doctor patient privacy laws are no longer accepted. This could be a clear case of " profiling " in which to record users, and the USG, use this to their financial advantage?

Originally posted by mtnshredder
Is it possible they are using this to combat their immigration problem and would this allow only US citizens to buy meds or could someone in the country illegally with no documentation be able to purchase narcotics? Don't want to derail and start a immigration debate, just curious.

Right now here in AZ there is no ID required to get your script filled. I just generally can't comprehend why this would work well---alot of people that are actually taking things such as Oxycontin or Percocet for legitimate pain relief are older people who are not usually able to get out of the house--so it would be awfully hard on them if a caregiver can't pick up scripts anymore.

Unfortunatley here in AZ there are alot of people who steal pain meds; or who are abusing them generally. Some of these medications are very nessessary for people in extreme pain and those assholes are just making it harder for those who really need it to get filled.

But in all reality further regulation of this market will only harm those who need the most--so we're toeing a fine line.