A young dad in Target got upset today because he had to show ID to buy Ny-Quil for Children

[slackmaster]

He was baffled and annoyed, demanding to know why.

I stole his thunder: "Sir, a new California state law requires the store to check ID of people who buy anything containing dextromethorphan now. You have to have a prescription for it if you are under 18."

"That's stupid!" he replied.

I went on "The problem is that people keep electing the same idiots to our state government."

Old man in front of me turned around, pointed at me, and shouted "He's right! This state used to be a paradise. It's been taken over by fools and incompetents!"

The checker was so rattled she gave me too much change. I just kept it and walked out as she was picking up her phone.

Rant off.

http://www.nabp.net/news/california-law-prohibits-sales-of-dextromethorphan-products-to-minors/

[Ian David]

1. I would have just told him to go watch the first season of Breaking Bad. n/t

[dkf]

9. Ooh that show is something else...

So far it's the best thing on Netflix streaming.

[MADem]

12. Incredible ending...but I won't tell! nt

[Sirveri]

27. It's been picked up for a fifth season, so it's not technically ended yet.

But Season 4... uhhh... wow.

[MADem]

33. Holy moly! They could have wrapped up at S4, and it would have made sense!

It's so rich, though, it certainly could go on!

[GOTV]

46. Yeah, it was almost like they wrote S4 before they knew they'd get a S5

[MADem]

48. Well, I'm a happy camper at the prospect of a fifth season. Tremendous story, tremendous acting.

Love the ordinariness of their lives, notwithstanding the craziness. The son w/CP is a gem, too.

It's really one of the best things on TV.

[GOTV]

50. I've enjoyed it as well but S5 is going to be weird ...

... with no cliff hanger to wonder about. It's got to start like everything looks OK but to keep up the pace of the preceding seasons something has got to go very wrong quickly.

[Sirveri]

51. They never fully closed the IRS plot line, so my guess is it goes that route.

Would be nice to see it focus more on Skylar for once.

[applegrove]

35. I have not watched season for. Waiting for it on dvd.

[MADem]

2. That poor checker. She'll have to make up the difference out of her paycheck.

If she doesn't get fired for being "short" on her cash drawer.

She's one of the 99 percent, too, ya know.

Why did you take your ire at the state out on her? Rather unprogressive, to put it politely.

I once had a bank teller give me twelve thousand dollars, and forget to annotate it in my passbook. This was back when there were no computers and things were much more primitive....and twelve grand was some SERIOUS scratch.

It wasn't easy to go back and correct the error, while visions of what I could do with that dough danced in my head, but I did it. I'm glad I did, too. I don't think I could have lived with myself, screwing over a new teller who was still trying to get the lay of the land.

[slackmaster]

4. The 22 cents she might have to make up will be a cheap lesson for her.

I just wanted to get out of there.

BTW, when I worked for a bank in the 1980s, tellers were not penalized for being out of balance as much as five dollars per day. I spent three days working a teller station for my education. It's very hard to stay in balance when you handle odd amounts of cash all day.

I don't have any idea what Target's policy is, but I'd bet there is some leniency.

[MADem]

11. "Lesson" --what lesson? Good grief, you make a scene and start griping in the line,

and you scared her. She probably thought you were part of a creepy flash mob or something.

She didn't make the CA law, now, did she? She isn't even in charge of store policy. She's a shit worker, on her feet all day, at the bottom of the food chain right above the poor sods who clean the shit off the bathroom walls.

So why be abusive towards her? Your logic is wanting.

Sheesh--talk about missing the mark.

Even if the store is lenient (and they'll probably review the tape-from-above when they cash her out) it will be a mark against her. When it comes time to fire a cashier, the one who lost the most money is the one who will get screwed.

[Cirque du So-What]

25. Those who abuse minimum-wage workers are not progressives

Not by any definition that I can fathom, anyway. Goddam fucking bullies is more like it.

[MADem]

32. I can't be abusive to people who are working for a living, either.

I might ask about a policy at a workplace, if it's stupid, but I don't shoot the messenger.

It ain't the wage slaves who make the rules!

[eShirl]

13. Why would they be lenient when they can take 100% of the missing cents out of her paycheck?

Pennies add up to dollars that could be going to a CEO's bonus, you know!

[MineralMan]

18. No, not really. You knew she gave you too much change.

You stole it from the store. Ethics aren't optional. If you get too much change, you are ethically required to return it. I wouldn't brag about stealing that change, frankly.

[JohnnyRingo]

20. There's always one

Sometimes it's best not to give too many details around here lest you be found guilty by the misdemeanor morality police. Don't let it get to you, fortunately they don't have sentencing rights beyond tsk tsk. Personally, I think if drug sceening didn't trump IQ testing in the wokplace,you'd have the correct change.

Great overall story though, but I wonder if the old guy was on your side or just another Tea Bagger who doesn't miss an opportunity to bash our reps. If pressed he might have sited only Dems for "taking his beloved country" away. I'm glad you stirred things up a little.

[Cirque du So-What]

26. I count way more than one

and by my reckoning you are in the minority: on the side of bullies who vent their frustrations on service workers who are powerless to remedy the situation in question. Those who you chide as 'morality police' have as much right to voice their opinion as those who brag about making some poor girl's workday a living hell. SHAME!

[JohnnyRingo]

42. Not taking away your right to do anything

Nor do I want to.
Continue judging me all you want.

[Cirque du So-What]

43. Like YOU're above judging others?!?

Teh irony. You has it. And, yes, if you see fit to come in and condemn others, then I certainly reserve that selfsame right. Sauce for the goose & all that.

[JohnnyRingo]

45. Am I free to go officer?

I understand It's my fault I can't stand on the side of the road while someone is ludicrously lectured by a unit of Barney Fifes about how twenty three cents is a lot of money to some people and they'll take that out of her paycheck making her kids will go hungry. No it isn't, and no they won't.

I know some business owners, and no, they would never consider taking less than a one dollar under ring from an employee. No employer would risk losing a good worker over couch change.

People jumped in here for no other reason than to inform the OP that they were so much better than he, and what they'd have done in his shoes. I felt he could use some consolation. So carry on with the good work, those crosswalks are there for a reason.

[Cirque du So-What]

49. I didn't take exception to the part about getting back too much change

FWIW, I started contributing to this thread because it appeared to me that the OP took far too much pleasure in having ruined the working day of a poor harried clerk who had zero to do with the law in question and had no authority to circumvent it. It's like the author of the OP wrote it and actually expected to be congratulated for being such a jerk. I saw fit to point out that it was bullying behavior that was hardly praiseworthy...not that I have any expectation that the behavior will change; when bullying behavior survives into adulthood, the die is pretty much cast, buy by god I will continue to point it out whenever I encounter it.

You may now continue your rant over the change, but that's not what I care to discuss - never did. It was always about the bullying that the author of the OP was so eager to brag about that drew my criticism.

[JohnnyRingo]

52. Then I'll leave it at that, and respect your opinion

I hope to end this on a good note.

[Scuba]

5. +1

[idiotgardener]

16. So to sum up...

you considered keeping $12k and deserve great kudos for bringing it back, but slackmaster is a horrible human being for walking out with 22¢ through no fault of his own....

[MineralMan]

19. Ethical behavior is ethical behavior. The amount doesn't matter.

The amount is irrelevant. The poster corrected the $12K error. The other poster pocketed the 22 cents. Which one did the right thing? No excuses for knowingly stealing any amount of money. It is that simple.

[idiotgardener]

23. Things have to be in context.

Taking $12k would most certainly get someone in huge trouble. 22¢ almost certainly not.

I get your point, but minor errors like that are made in grocery stores – in both directions – all the time and generally not considered worth correcting. I've been overcharged by small amounts several times and not asked for a correction, so if someday I get a few cents extra back I'm not taking the time to fix that either.

[MineralMan]

29. Actually, no. When I receive change at the store, I have already calculated

the amount I should receive. I look at the change I receive. If it is different from my calculation, I get it corrected. Either I receive more change or I return any amount over the correct amount. It takes just a second. 90% of the time, the change is accurate. When it is not, I fix it.

There is a correct and ethical way to do things, and there ways which are neither. I choose the former.

Yesterday, I went through the self-checkout in the grocery store. When I got to my car, I discovered an onion in my shopping cart that had rolled out of its bag. I had not paid for it. So, I put the rest of the groceries in the car, returned to the store, weighed that onion, and paid for it in the self-checkout lane. The code for white onions in my supermarket is 4663. It was 32 cents. I put a dollar in the slot, and got 68 cents in change. Then, I returned to the car, put the onion in one of the shopping bags and went home.

It is a matter of principle. I will neither cheat anyone, nor allow myself to be cheated. I correct every error of that kind, regardless of the inconvenience. I expect others to do the same when dealing with me. You may have another habit.

[idiotgardener]

31. Yeah, I'm incorrect and unethical.

Oh well.

[MADem]

34. I didn't say that, but nice snark on the characterization.

I didn't say I deserved "kudos." In fact, I pretty much said I would feel like an asshole if I kept the money. There's a substantial difference between those two comments.

Anyone who knowingly rips off a wage slave is not a nice person. They demonstrate where their priorities are when they commit to keeping what isn't theirs.

[idiotgardener]

36. You seemed to be holding yourself up as the example

and I seriously doubt the cashier got in trouble over 22¢.

[MADem]

37. What a curious perspective you have. No, I wasn't doing that.

I was imparting a tale that involved a natural tendency that humans have towards avarice, and the guilt I encountered as I contemplated the possibilities, which resulted in my decision to go back to the bank once I saw what had happened (or did not happen in the passbook). If I'd been a real Saint Eligius, I wouldn't have thought, even for a second, about what I might do with that cash.

If I wanted a pat on the back, I would have given the dough to the bank manager. Instead, I went back to the kid who gave it to me and quietly informed him of his error. After he turned paper pale, he fixed the paperwork and was greatly appreciative. I didn't rat him out, either.

You have no clue what the policies are at that store--for all you know, it's one, two, three strikes you're out. Bottom line, though, it ain't nice to take what isn't yours, particularly when you jeopardize the employment of a cashier while knowing what you did was wrong.

And making excuses like "It wasn't that much" or "She probably won't get in trouble" are just lame. They reflect on your character.

[idiotgardener]

38. Yeah, I have terrible character.

Although I never would have considered keeping the $12k.

You have no idea what the policy is at that store either, but it doesn't keep you from claiming that the cashier's job is in jeopardy.

[MADem]

39. Forgive me if I look askance at your assertions.

If you can rip off a cashier for 22 cents, you just might be tempted by twelve grand.

I never claimed anything, I simply proposed possibilities that plainly never entered your head. You, apparently, are convinced of your rightness and untroubled by your behavior.

Goodie for you, then!

[idiotgardener]

40. Your first post is titled "That poor checker. She'll have to make up the difference out of her...

paycheck."

Then it says "If she doesn't get fired for being "short" on her cash drawer."

In another post you say "Even if the store is lenient (and they'll probably review the tape-from-above when they cash her out) it will be a mark against her. When it comes time to fire a cashier, the one who lost the most money is the one who will get screwed."

Those look like claims to me.

If my "behavior" is taking home a few hypothetical cents if I don't notice the cashier gives me extra, I guess I can live with that.

But I'm glad you know me so well. I'm sure your help will put me on the right path.

[MADem]

41. Well, they look like common sense to me. I don't live in a world where tight-fisted corporations

reward people who lose money for them.

You're the one that proudly asserted that you knew about/kept the 22 cent overage, ya know. You brought this on yourself.

[idiotgardener]

44. Are you confusing me with the OP?

The encounter was not mine; I brought nothing "on myself" except this silly conversation.

And the question was not whether your claims were common sense but whether they were claims, which I still think they are.

No one said the cashier would be "rewarded" for losing money. Just not punished over 22¢.

[MADem]

47. Probably. nt

[hlthe2b]

3. Dextromethorphan....

Geebus. :eyes:

You can buy low dose codeine containing pain meds in many Western Nations Over-the-counter, yet we regulate the exceedingly ineffective detromethorphan?

[Tippy]

6. First you had to sign your name for some medication

now the is over the counter meds....Then you had to have proof of identity, now before you can make your purchase you have to have a consult with the pharmacist. Not sure if this a country or state deal....in TN

[slackmaster]

7. New California state law just signed by Gov. Brown. I added a link to the OP that leads to it.

HTH

[beam me up scottie]

10. In TN bf can pick up my narcotic containing migraine medication without a blink.

But just try to have clogged sinuses in this state.

I swear they're starting to follow us in helicopters when we buy Sudafed.

[Tippy]

21. I was talking about Sudafed also.....

[beam me up scottie]

22. Thought so.

It's gotten so bad that my bf doesn't want to buy it for me, he doesn't like the idea of being on the fed's list of suspected meth manufacturers.

And neither do I. :mad:

AFAIK, their policies haven't made any difference in the availability of meth.

[Tikki]

8. I believe it is an appropriate law....

I've read about teens drinking/taking massive amounts of OTC medications
trying to get high.
Some have gotten quite ill and some (in conjunction with other medications) have died.

By showing ID it models to others that we care about our children. Also, takes 1 second.

We have better State legislators in California NOW then we have had in a long time.

Whenever I here someone say This State used to be paradise... I inform them about
the ability to move, maybe Arizona and it's laws would be more to their tastes.


Tikki

[Euromutt]

53. "By showing ID it models to others that we care about our children." Say what?

If we actually cared about our children, we'd be asking what makes teens so desperate to get high that they'll resort to ingesting large amounts of OTC medications in the first place, and tackling that, instead of playing whack-a-mole with whatever substance they can get their hands on after the last one was prohibited to them.

[dkf]

14. Teens and DXM Drug Abuse

Webmd:

If you’re raising a teenager and you don’t know much about DXM or cough medicine abuse, you’re hardly alone. DXM, or dextromethorphan, is a common ingredient in cough and combination cold medicines. Teens, however, have found another use for cough medicine -- getting high. Taking huge doses of cough medicine to get high may sound revolting. In fact, you might assume it’s just an obscure fringe thing.

But it’s not. A 2008 study found that one in 10 American teenagers has abused products with DXM to get high, making it more popular in that age group than cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, and meth. Although DXM products are quite safe when taken as recommended, high doses can cause hallucinogenic trips -- and pose serious risks.


At normal doses, DXM is quite safe. Dextromethorphan affects the brain, specifically the region that controls coughing. However, at high doses – as much as 10 to 50 times the suggested amount – DXM can cause hallucinatory and dissociative effects similar to those of PCP or ketamine (special K.) Some people assume that teens who abuse cough medicine are after the alcohol content, but they’re really after DXM.

Although DXM abuse is not new, the scope has been changing. In California, rates of DXM cases reported to poison control centers jumped by 10 times between 1999-2004. Among children aged 9-17, it increased by 15 times. More recent national surveys have shown DXM abuse holding steady or dropping slightly, but it remains a serious problem.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/teen-abuse-cough-medicine-9/teens-and-dxm-drug-abuse

[pinto]

15. At one time widely used as a readily available recreational drug among teens.

Has hallucinogenic effects. Was pulled off the shelves and access limited to prescription or with an ID to limit that use. The procedure has worked. :hi:

[MineralMan]

17. As has been pointed out already, there's a valid reason for that

law. Same in Minnesota. How is it a big deal? Kids were abusing dextromethorphan. Now kids can't buy it. Simple. Same situation with pseudoephedrine. It can be used in the manufacture of methamphetemine. So, now you have to get it from behind the pharmacy counter and sign for it. Problem solved.

Who cares? It's no big deal.

[Cirque du So-What]

28. Oh, but there's more to it than mere inconvenience

It dovetails nicely with the views of some who deride any & all interference in our lives from the big, bad ol' gubmint. Thinly-veiled to the point of transparency.

[MineralMan]

30. Ah...the libertarian philosophy, eh. Every man an island.

Need a Linux Consultant?

[jwirr]

24. Most states have that law. If you can make meth with it they cannot

just hand it out. I was shocked the first time they asked me for id.