Back when swim was injecting, one of her friends had an excellent relationship with a pharmacist and was easily able to get syringes. Swim usually bought them off him or he just gave them to her.
The few times when Swim had to get them on her own, she sent her man in to do the work. He could charm anyone, knew a lot about diabetes, and played/looked the part so well that he never had any trouble. There was one popular chain drugstore in GA he could always go get them with no trouble. She knew others who were able to go there as well, so harm-reduction may have been be their unspoken practice.
Swim's understanding is that in many states, it is up to the pharmacist. It may not be illegal to sell the syringes without a prescription, but if the pharmacist suspects they'll be used for IDU, then it becomes paraphernalia and it becomes illegal to sell and possess. This was always swim's understanding, too. It's been years since she's used, but she did some reading and came up with some interesting info. Not sure if it's the same for other states, but it's a starting point.
Here's a good article explaining more:
Quote:
Here in Georgia a prescription is not technically required to purchase syringes, but the wording of the law is so vague that it can be twisted either way. Ultimately, you don't need a prescription to buy syringes, but a pharmacist can refuse to sell them to you if they feel like it.
Basically, we have two regulations that address syringes. One is the GA State Controlled Substances Act - Drug Related Objects (Paraphernalia) Laws. The other is the State Board of Pharmacy Laws which regulate the practice of pharmacy.
The Paraphernalia Law bans the sale of any object which is intended to inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce marijuana or a controlled substance into the human body. The law has a special exception which excludes physicians and pharmacies selling syringes for a legitimate medical purpose.
The Pharmacy Laws state that a pharmacist can sell syringes without a prescription, unless he or she has knowledge or reason to believe the item will be used for an illegal purpose.
Literally translated he would have to sell them unless he had some sort of proof or knowledge that it was going to be used to inject illegal drugs. Obviously, a pharmacist would be unable to know such things about a stranger off the street. However, many pharmacists refuse sale because of negative images of injection drug use. Others say they usually do sell, because not doing so would promote the spread of infectious diseases through needle reuse.
Personally, I think all syringe sales should be decriminalized. It has been shown that the availability of syringes does not promote or increase drug use, but it HAS been proven to reduce syringe reuse and decrease the spread of infectious diseases like HIV. Injection Drug Users normally have serious addictions and are going to inject the drugs whether or not they have clean syringes.
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That article is from a popular answer site. Swim wasn't sure if she should link the article.
But like others said, there is always the option of buying them online.
If that's not an option and success can only be found by going to a store, then the person buying them needs to be knowledgeable and:
Know a lot about diabetes
Give the impression that certain lengths of points hurt their stomachs, so they prefer xxx size. Let one's hand slip down to their stomach (as if subconsciously) when they say that.
Dress and speak the part
Hide track marks. They may ask to see the person's arms.
Smile and act natural. Don't act suspicious and dodgy.
Set a bag of sugar free candies or other things diabetics buy on the counter before asking for the syringes. (seriously ... this has worked for many of swim's friends)
Ask the pharmacist if they've heard about such and such new medication that's coming out or about xx diabetes pump and tell them you've been thinking about discussing it with your doctor.
Know the names of diabetes meds.
Don't overdo it. Less is more in some cases.
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