Stuck in an (Il)Legal quandary....

[Sage]

I work in home health care. Part of this job is I become privvy to things in people's personal lives that I really don't want nor need to know. Right now I'm taking care of an older lady, M, who is living on food stamps and a social security pension, like most older people.

Two months ago she fell and broke four ribs. Her doctor gave her a perscription for hydrocodine, 90 pills for a one month supply. She has four more refills on her bottle. Her next door neighbor, Mike, apparently has connections and offered to buy pills from her and resell them, giving her $3 a pill.

Now, this is definitely something I DON'T want to know and I DON'T want to be a part of. I just found out about this little arrangement about a week ago. Now, it gets a little more intresting today when I find out that M gave Mike 80 pills and he only gave her $40 for them. So not only is he buying drugs off of a little old lady (telling her that they're for people he knows who need them but can't afford them) but he's shortchanging her in the process. I told her he owes her more money, and that she should take it up with him.

BUT I know this whole thing is illegal. I'm privy to information that I REALLY DON'T WANNA KNOW, and I really don't want to see M being screwed over by this fuckwad redneck with a 9th grade education. So, do I keep quiet about it? Tell my employer? Tell the police? I've thought about calling the police anonomously and saying that Mike is selling pills and just keeping M outta the whole thing. I imagine that M would get into trouble if it came out that she was selling her pills to Mike, even though she's an old lady who's going a little bit batty.

What in Christ's name should I do?

[The_Jazz]

I really don't see how you can get Mike in trouble without getting M right in there with him. Any guy that would shortchange a little old lady like this probably can't be counted on not to keep her name away from the cops if he gets busted. After all M IS breaking the law, although she may not realize it.

At this point, I think that your only choice is to keep your head in the sand and pretend that you don't know anything. Mike isn't going to come up with the extra money, and if M isn't going to call him on it, then he's probably going to keep shortchanging her. The only other thing that you can do is tell her to keep her medicine to herself and stop selling extras to Mike, no matter how much she needs the cash.

[Ample]

Thats a tough call. Personally I would try to forget it ever happen. Not a easy thing and really not the most ethical thing to do, but I just wouldnt want to get involved in a matter that doesnt really concern me.

What ever the outcome, I dont see how Lady M is going to win. She will never get the money from Mike, and if you say something she might loose all of the pill altogther. So what is more important to you. Making sure that mike doesnt screw her over anymore, then tell your employer. If you want to make sure miss M still gets her meds, then I would keep my mouth shut.

The last thing I would do is tell the police.

[JustJess]

Try to get M to stop, since she's getting screwed. If you can't, stay out of it, or tell her family, perhaps. But frankly, I don't think selling pills is all that big a deal. But I'm weird.

[Sage]

I am going to tell my employer about it- that way the ball is in their court. I am not comfortable not telling anyone because if anything should happen and I was privvy to what was going on and didn't tell the proper people, I would get into trouble. I'll let my employer know what's happening and see how they want to proceed.

[vanblah]

$3 for a hydrocodone? Holy cow! Those are going for $7-10 a pop on the street. She's really getting screwed.

But seriously, I think you are right in this case. You need to tell someone at the very least to cover your own butt. If something got out and then somehow it became known that you were aware of it, you could at the very least lose your job. If someone dies from an overdose or bad reaction (however unlikely) and it gets back that you were aware of it ... forget about the criminal liability, you need to beware of the civil lawsuits from the families.

Personally, I don't have a problem with selling pills (or drugs in general). However, as nice as "M" might be, I'm sure she's aware that what she's doing is illegal.

[Willravel]

Find another dealer for M, and let him and Mike bid. Market competition is healthy.

In all honesty, you're right to tell your employer. This is illegal and shoudln't be happening. While I do feel sympathy for M, she either knows what she's doing is wrong and should be punshed for it...or she doesn't know what she's doing and shouldn't be given a big thing of pills. She should take her medication until she no longer needs it, then she should not get any more.

[BigBen]

I would go to the authorities, and explain the situation, just like you did. They aren't going to bust a little old lady with no money.

They should get this Mike guy and make it so that he needs a prescription himself. Fucking pig.

Hey, don't ignore this and don't worry about the aftermath. You see something wrong, you stop it.

This isn't rocket science. It is right versus wrong.

[Sage]

Allrighty, I told my boss this afternoon and she said she'd deal with it. She's calling M's doctor and stopping the perscription (she couldn't believe he'd give M such a HUGE perscription), and she's also going to talk with M's DSS worker about the situation. She can't get the law involved, not yet, because it's just hearsay (I haven't witnessed anything illegal taking place). HOWEVER, the situation is out of my hands and I'm SO glad it's offa my mind.

Yes, I think Mike needs to get roughed up. He's a cornholing redneck with a 9th grade education and no steady job. I am a little worried about someone he sold to getting wind of where he got the pills and coming around to see if there's any left- a concern which I shared with my boss and which she shares. Yes, I also know M is getting TOTALLY screwed on the money end- Mike gave her $40 for 80 pills (that right there made me wanna go all "Al Pacino in Godfather" on his ass).

It's times like these that I wish I was born a big, hulking, bad assed black dude so I could just waltz into his trailer and intimidate the hell outta him. But nope, I've got the boobies, which are weapons in their own rights, just not useful in this situation.

Thanks for all your help guys

[analog]

I think some of you are confusing hydrocodone (which is the drug in question) with oxycodone. Oxycodone is a schedule 2 (C2) prescription drug and NEVER, by federal law, has refills, but is much stronger and, as a result, has a higher street value. And by the way, 90 pills for a 30-day supply is not uncommon at all for hydrocodone. I work in a pharmacy right outside a hospital; I fill a few dozen precriptions, every shift, for hydrocodone and oxycodone, and that's not at all an uncommon quantity and dosage for hydrocodone- it's just one pill every 8 hours (3 a day).

Also, here is the applicable section of law under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)- sections NOT in bold are my added words for clarification:

"Permitted disclosure: Crime on premises. A covered entity (you, the worker) may disclose to a law enforcement official protected health information that the covered entity believes in good faith constitutes evidence of criminal conduct that occurred on the premises of the covered entity."

In other words, if you believe a crime was committed, you are allowed to report it to the police. Keep in mind that, as with everything in the HIPAA law, you may only divulge necessary information. This means you may disclose details concerning the act in question, but if you went on and started talking about other personal health information, you're not covered for those disclosures and would be in violation of the HIPAA law.

[vanblah]

Originally Posted by analog

I think some of you are confusing hydrocodone

Both of them are controlled substances and it's illegal to resell them.

I have a (sort of) ongoing prescription for hydrocodone (Lortab). I've had people offer to buy them from me at about $10 a pill. I've always politely declined. I have chronic back pain (already had surgery) and sometimes I need my Lortab.

Yeah, it's not unusual for a doc to give Lortab out like candy. I had a mole removed once and was prescribed 20 Lortab for pain. I never experienced any pain; a little itch as it healed by nothing that needed Lortab. Still, different people have different tolerances for pain.

[macmanmike6100]

Not sure if people are actually confusing hydrocodone with oxycodone, but it's most definitely used by "people on the street"

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/su...rocodone.shtml