Montana News: A Thorny Problem to Ponder

January 1, 2006 4:03 pm

Reprinted from the January 2006 Montana Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

What is the best way to proceed when a patient is admitted to your facility and his or her medications are found to include contraband products? An attorney in the Montana Attorney General’s office recently gave a verbal opinion stating that any illicit drug product encountered in the normal course of business should be turned over to local law enforcement personnel. Storing contraband products and returning them to the patient upon discharge is definitely not desirable, nor is wasting and disposing of contraband products within the pharmacy, as you would possibly be implicated in the destruction of potential criminal evidence. If contraband products are turned over to law enforcement, it would be advisable to get a signature of the officer/agency picking them up and a pharmacist signature as well as a description and quantity of the contraband products. Institutional guidelines should be followed regarding patient identification. A subpoena can be requested by law enforcement if necessary.