How many of you carry extra pills for scrips in the plane?

P

poadeleted3

Pattern Altitude
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Mar 2, 2005
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I ran out of pills for my Toprol scrip for my heart last night, and the ensuing scramble to beat the phamacy closure caused me to wonder what I'd do if I ever ended up stuck somewhere because of weather or the plane breaking down. We carry a few emergency goodies in the flight back, but I'd never thought of carrying those. I wouldn't keel over without them, but I know I don't feel good. Doc was kind enough to hook me up with a 7 day sample foil wrapped sample pack, which is perfect for storing in the flight bag and which will now call it home.

Kinda made me wonder if anyone else carries an emergency stock of prescriptions in the plane?
 
I do for my wifes medicine. This is an important thing for folks to do. Good Post Joe.
 
Be careful - watch expiration dates and light and heat sensitivity of the drugs. And of course, DON'T keep any prescription schedule substances in the airplane - keep that stuff in your personal possession.
 
Joe, on any cross country or $200 hamburger run I always take my flight bag, back pack really. Anyway, besides the flight stuff I keep a small RON kit. That's a remain over night kit. I have tooth paste and brushes, deod, shampoo etc. I also have a 7 day supply of my pills which I rotate every month to keep them fresh. Doesn't take up much room and will come in handy if we ever get stuck some place. Just a thought.
Ron
 
TMetzinger said:
Be careful - watch expiration dates and light and heat sensitivity of the drugs. And of course, DON'T keep any prescription schedule substances in the airplane - keep that stuff in your personal possession.
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2nd attempt to post a reply, i hate it when that happens, you type for five minutes (forgive my slow typing, both pinkies are simi paralyzed from so many
dirt bike injury's.) hit submit, get the sign in screen AGAIN then pooooof the
post disappears. Oh well.... a shorter version of 1st attempt.........

While sailing in North Carolina's Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, we were boarded by the Coast Guard. After "inspecting" the vessel for life jackets,
horn/whistle, etc.,our personal items were searched. One of the Seamen found my emergency supply of pain killers for an injury. I had them(3) in a zip lock bag so they would not get wet. You would have thought I was trying to import a ton of pot the way they acted at first. The OIC informed me it is a federal offense to transport Rx this way. According to him,The pills should be in the original bottle with the Dr's and my name on it. I ask him about those 7 day pill trays that i often see folks use that take multiple Rx's. He laughed at me and said that is fine as long as the original bottle accompany s the tray.
I wanted to get the Bull... replant out on that one!
A cell phone (mine) call to CVS verified I indeed did have a prescription.
I dont know if what he told me is valid, I never investigated.



KD
 
cherokeeflyboy said:
I had them(3) in a zip lock bag so they would not get wet. You would have thought I was trying to import a ton of pot the way they acted at first. The OIC informed me it is a federal offense to transport Rx this way. According to him,The pills should be in the original bottle with the Dr's and my name on it. I ask him about those 7 day pill trays that i often see folks use that take multiple Rx's. He laughed at me and said that is fine as long as the original bottle accompany s the tray.
KD
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He's telling you the truth. Not only is it a Federal offense, but most states also have a similar law. It's not enforced all that often, but it's on the books none the less.
 
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I was a Coastie, and that's why I made the comment - it's something we were taught to look for, and Customs and other LEOs who might search your plane are taught to look for it as well. You need to treat controlled substances with control. If they aren't on your person, they need to be in a bottle with a label showing what they are and who they are prescribed for. If they are on your person, they should be treated the same way if you've got more than one or two pills.

However, unless there's more to the story, the CG shouldn't have searched your items. We were taught to only search compartments big enough to hide a person when conducting a courtesy boarding - the point is to ensure the safety of the boarding team. However all sorts of things in plain sight could give probable cause for a more thorough search.

Oh, and with the recent broughaha about drugs from canada, this can apply to ALL prescriptions, not just schedule drugs. Typically they'll look hardest at the narcotics, but you could get just as busted for an antibiotic.
 
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TMetzinger said:
I was a Coastie, and that's why I made the comment - it's something we were taught to look for, and Customs and other LEOs who might search your plane are taught to look for it as well. You need to treat controlled substances with control. If they aren't on your person, they need to be in a bottle with a label showing what they are and who they are prescribed for. If they are on your person, they should be treated the same way if you've got more than one or two pills.
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Were you not ALSO taught to use some common sense and judgement-making skills when it came to personal use prescription drugs?

I'm a retired U.S. Marshal and we were taught at FLETC that nothing, but nothing, but would turn the American people against you faster than abusing your discretion of power and authority.

I see it way too much these days. WAY too much. Nine out of ten of today's cops don't have the common sense of a ****ant and would rather hassle Granny and Granpa over their hyrocodone than take on Julio and his cartel armed with AK47s.

We've got a 34' sport cruiser yacht docked down on the Texas Gulf Coast and cruise the ICW, occasionally getting out into open water. I have been boarded a few times by the Coast Guard and not once have I have been hassled about the Rx pills we keep in watertight containers (that are not the original bottles), or the Winchester Mariner model 12-guage shotgun in the salon or the S&W 686 holstered in a quick-release rig at the helm under the instrument panel.

Everything we keep in our boat, our airplanes, hangar, flight bag, boat bag, etc is all legal--and all any cop has to do is use a little common sense to determine that. Jacking up law-abiding citizens over nitpicky B.S. like not having your Tylenol3 in the original Rx bottle is horsecrap. Any cop or Coastie that does that should have their testicles sliced and diced on the spot.

-JD
 
TMetzinger said:
However, unless there's more to the story, the CG shouldn't have searched your items.

There were a few open liquor bottles on the Table. all aboard were drinking.
with drinks in hand.
we consented to search knowing (or I thought I knew) there was nothing to worry about.
I got an education that day and we parted friends, waving good bye.
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TMetzinger said:
I was a Coastie, and that's why I made the comment - it's something we were taught to look for, and Customs and other LEOs who might search your plane are taught to look for it as well. You need to treat controlled substances with control. If they aren't on your person, they need to be in a bottle with a label showing what they are and who they are prescribed for. If they are on your person, they should be treated the same way if you've got more than one or two pills. Typically they'll look hardest at the narcotics, but you could get just as busted for an antibiotic.
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And you wonder why my attitude toward situations like this is: "Do you work hard at being STUPID.. or does it just come natural!?" Seeing I get my scripts in B I G bottles, ie: (4 months supply at a time), do you really think I'm going to empty several HUNDRED pills out on the dining room table just to legally carry ONE pill in each B I G bottle!?

N O T !

Scenario.. the Coastie, L.E.O., etc., etc. checks out you/your plane. Low and behold they find 6 - 7 - or 8 different total pills.. but they're NOT in their own individual 55 gallon drum carried upon your person. (Yeah, I know. I'm being sarcastic here.. but considering, it needs it.) There are two ways to go here.

1.) O.K. buddy.. your busted. I see you've got this big cache of pills.. and none of them are in your correctly marked container. You're going away to the gray bar hotel for the next 100 plus years, forfiet your plane, lose your wife and kids, have your house and cars taken away, etc., etc.

or

2.) Afternoon Mr. Pilot. I see you have several pills here. While I cross check them in my Lippincott Willams & Wilkins Drug Handbook, could you tell me what they're for?

Sure.. no problems. The little yellow one is.. used for my ??. I take ?? every day when ??. The green one.. etc., etc.

Tomorrow morning, (well you better make it late in the morning), I could line up 400 - 500 older senior citizens from my sub-division who take several pills on a daily basis just like I do. Using just a little common sense, it wouldn't be hard to figure out that a 65 year old, half crippled pilot you've just busted for having a pill for (let's say).. gout, cholesterol, arthritis, etc., etc. isn't really the worlds most notorious sought after, number one king'pin drug dealer you're making him out to be.. but rather just the gentle old next door grandfather that he is. Oh.. and those pills? They're just his daily maintenance meds he's been taking for the past number of years.

Like I said, all you need to use is a little common sense, but as we know.. the govment ain't got none.

Dakota Duce

"May All Your Flights Be Of Good Weather!"
 
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I did not post my story to bash the Coast Guard or any other LEO agency.
I mearly posted it as a "heads up" or a "never again" experience. The thread has taken a negitave turn and has become off topic. As a show of respect to Joe, I suggest that his question be addressed .

To the "coasties" if the would take me, I 'd sign up tomorrow!!! too old , too ....
KD YN2SS USN
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<thats the submariners patch, dolphins in the wake of an old disel sub
 
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I've been boarded 15 times by the coasties and I would hardly use the word, "courtesy". In fact, it never occured to me. In one 2 month period I was boarded 4 times by the same crew on my same vessel in the same waters. Some of those boardings were during the time of the Zero Tolerance program which was a disaster for them, so I'll make that allowance in their behalf.
 
I carry a baggie in my flight bag with a few days' supply in my bag (like 2-3). Any more than that and I'll see a local doctor.

Thanks for reminding me to rotate the pills.
 
CowboyPilot said:
I'm a retired U.S. Marshal.
Click to expand...

JD, did you ever know a guy named Walter Layton?

I see it way too much these days. WAY too much. Nine out of ten of today's cops don't have the common sense of a ****ant and would rather hassle Granny and Granpa over their hyrocodone than take on Julio and his cartel armed with AK47s.
Click to expand...

Sad..but pretty true. At least of the younger ones I see today. I've had some pretty heated arguments with younger officers over the years about the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. I miss the days when officers had more discretion...and the common sense to use it.
 
WTF? Busted for colesterol medicine or antibiotics??? :mad:

Don't they have anything better to do? "Gee officer, I didn't realize my Lipitor was the same as cocaine, heroine, meth....."

My survival kit contains a weeks supply of my and my wife's meds. And all the stuff from Slim Pickens', Dr. Strangelove list including the .45 and the lipstick.

:)
 
CowboyPilot said:
Were you not ALSO taught to use some common sense and judgement-making skills when it came to personal use prescription drugs?

I'm a retired U.S. Marshal and we were taught at FLETC that nothing, but nothing, but would turn the American people against you faster than abusing your discretion of power and authority.

I see it way too much these days. WAY too much. Nine out of ten of today's cops don't have the common sense of a ****ant and would rather hassle Granny and Granpa over their hyrocodone than take on Julio and his cartel armed with AK47s.

We've got a 34' sport cruiser yacht docked down on the Texas Gulf Coast and cruise the ICW, occasionally getting out into open water. I have been boarded a few times by the Coast Guard and not once have I have been hassled about the Rx pills we keep in watertight containers (that are not the original bottles), or the Winchester Mariner model 12-guage shotgun in the salon or the S&W 686 holstered in a quick-release rig at the helm under the instrument panel.

Everything we keep in our boat, our airplanes, hangar, flight bag, boat bag, etc is all legal--and all any cop has to do is use a little common sense to determine that. Jacking up law-abiding citizens over nitpicky B.S. like not having your Tylenol3 in the original Rx bottle is horsecrap. Any cop or Coastie that does that should have their testicles sliced and diced on the spot.

-JD
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Amen! That being said I think Tim was just giving practical advice to avoid a hassel.
 
ausrere said:
. I miss the days when officers had more discretion...and the common sense to use it.
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Unfortunately discretion is often taken away by policy or legislation - the days of "zero tolerance" were hated by most of the coasties - we HAD to seize a vessel if we found ANYTHING at all, which meant we had to do all the paperwork, care for the boat, and eventually transfer it - to the marshals. It was a big change in the culture moving from Search and Rescue being the primary mission to concentrating on Maritime Law Enforcement.

When I was in the DEA it was better as far as the discretion individual agents had in general, but depending on the division and the attitudes of the SACs and RACs it could vary wildly.
 
TMetzinger said:
Unfortunately discretion is often taken away by policy or legislation - the days of "zero tolerance" were hated by most of the coasties - we HAD to seize a vessel if we found ANYTHING at all, which meant we had to do all the paperwork, care for the boat, and eventually transfer it - to the marshals. It was a big change in the culture moving from Search and Rescue being the primary mission to concentrating on Maritime Law Enforcement.

When I was in the DEA it was better as far as the discretion individual agents had in general, but depending on the division and the attitudes of the SACs and RACs it could vary wildly.
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I've yet to meet the old salt Coastie with the same hair color as my own who wouldn't have rather slit his wrists and jumped into a shark pit than do HSLE--High Seas Law Enforcement.

And you're dead-on about discretion being up to the SAC and how politically ambitious he/she/it is. Worst SACs in the world are with the FBI. After that, it's gotta be a toss up between the dope boys and the explosive gun boys.

Made me glad I finished my last eight years up as a sort of roving inspector whose primary responsibility was to chase and catch fugitives. Kept me out of the office and away from the political hack's quickly receding hair.

JD, did you ever know a guy named Walter Layton?
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That name sure as hell rings a bell. . . I called several judicial districts "home" during my tenure: Southern District of Florida (what fun--got into a shootout on my very first day on the way to work. Supervisor picked me up, showed me a bad part of Fort Lauderdale, whammo/bango--out went the back window), District of New Mexico, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, District of Kansas.

This guy work in any of those Districts?

There weren't but about 1900 of us when I first started, then a little over 2400 when I retired. We didn't need over 20,000 like the prissies in the FBI do.

-JD
 
Walter Layton rings a bell with me too for some reason - DEA HQ and USMS HQ were colocated for most of my time in the DEA, maybe that's where I heard it.
 
CowboyPilot said:
That name sure as hell rings a bell. . . I called several judicial districts "home" during my tenure: Southern District of Florida (what fun--got into a shootout on my very first day on the way to work. Supervisor picked me up, showed me a bad part of Fort Lauderdale, whammo/bango--out went the back window), District of New Mexico, Western District of Texas, Northern District of Texas, District of Kansas.

This guy work in any of those Districts?

There weren't but about 1900 of us when I first started, then a little over 2400 when I retired. We didn't need over 20,000 like the prissies in the FBI do.

-JD
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He was in what ever district Fort Worth calls home. He was a high school friend of my fathers and when I began to talk about LE he tried to talk me in to the Marshals. He lived down the street from my uncle and whenever I'd see him over the years, he still mentioned I should consider "moving up". Silly me..I wanted to be a uniform street cop instead. :dunno: If I recall correctly he was a supervisor in that district. Super nice guy. I've often wondered what happened to him, I haven't seen or heard of him in years.
 
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Joe,

While away on a business trip several years ago that lasted longer than expected...I needed to get an Rx filled...my doc just called a local pharmacy...it was for a non-narcotic medicine. This was before all the chain drug stores popped up. I'd bet it is even easier today, especially if you use one of the national chains to fill the Rx.

Len
 
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