Sec. 460.300 Return of Unused Prescription Drugs to Pharmacy Stock (CPG 7132.09)
POLICY:
A pharmacist should not return drugs products to his stock once they have been out of
his possession. It could be a dangerous practice for pharmacists to accept and return to
stock the unused portions of prescriptions that are returned by patrons, because he would
no longer have any assurance of the strength, quality, purity or identity of the articles.
Many state boards of pharmacy have issued regulations specifically forbidding the
practice. We endorse the actions of these State boards as being in the interest of public
health.
The pharmacist or doctor dispensing a drug is legally responsible for all hazards of
contamination or adulteration that may arise, should he mix returned portions of drugs to
his shelf stocks. Some of our investigations in the past have shown that drugs returned by
patrons and subsequently resold by the pharmacist were responsible for injuries.
Issued: 10/1/80