Is it a mortal sin to give someone a non-narcotic prescription drug that they weren't prescribed?

[Holly3278]

Hi everyone. Is it a mortal sin to give someone a non-narcotic prescription drug that they weren’t prescribed? Note that this is not a narcotic that I gave away as I said above. It is not a controlled substance, it is a prescription medicine but it is not a pain killer or something like that.

 

[crohnie4life]

Wouldn’t that be kind of dangerous because you really don’t know how that person may react to the medication if they’ve never been on it before. You don’t know if they’ll have an allergic reaction to it or if they’ve taken something else that may interfere w/it (such as alcohol, antibiotics, certain foods, etc.).

I’m on many prescription medications for health problems and I’ve been told by my doctors and pharmacist to NEVER EVER share my prescriptions narcotic or not with anybody ever.

It can be dangerous. Have your friend see their own physician if they are ill. Better safe than sorry. I realize your heart may be in the right place but leave it in the hands of a professional. God bless!!

 

[patsydtr]

First of all…it is against the law. Whether it is a controlled substance or not. If it is a prescription, filled for you and you give it to someone else, that is a federal offence. Secondly…giving someone a medication, not prescribed for them could make them seriously ill or even cause death!
In answer to your question of “is it a mortal sin”?..If you know it is against the law and morally wrong and you do it anyway…I would say, that makes it a mortal sin.

 

[LilyM]

First of all…it is against the law. Whether it is a controlled substance or not. If it is a prescription, filled for you and you give it to someone else, that is a federal offence. Secondly…giving someone a medication, not prescribed for them could make them seriously ill or even cause death!
In answer to your question of “is it a mortal sin”?..If you know it is against the law and morally wrong and you do it anyway…I would say, that makes it a mortal sin.

The facts that it is highly dangerous, as well as being against the law for precisely that reason, would push it over the border to grave (potentially mortal) sin IMHO.

The illegality by itself doesn’t matter so much, after all there are some downright unfair or harmful laws. This law, however, is certainly not one of them.

 

[Catholic90]

It would be really stupid.

 

[Whitacre_Girl]

Hi everyone. Is it a mortal sin to give someone a non-narcotic prescription drug that they weren’t prescribed? Note that this is not a narcotic that I gave away as I said above. It is not a controlled substance, it is a prescription medicine but it is not a pain killer or something like that.

Remember: it’s the conditions of a sin that makes it mortal. Since you have to ask, then it is not mortal. You didn’t do it “in full knowledge of its sinfulness.”

It is, however, bad. It’s very illegal to do this, and we should follow the laws of our country. Not to mention it’s exceedingly dangerous. You don’t know what other medications they are on and how it would interact, you don’t know what their doseage should be, and it may not be the medication they need for whatever it is causing you to give them meds. Best to leave medicine for doctors and pharmacists.

 

[Rence]

Holly, sharing your prescriptions with another person is illegal, and you probably don’t realize this but it’s risky. What if that person has an allergic reaction? What if that person gets sick from whatever you give? What if it conflicts with another medication they’re on? What if it dangerously raises their blood pressure? Or dangerously lowers their heart rate?

But I’ll tell you what you CAN do. If someone is sick, and you’re around to help them, I would suggest you simply call their doctor (or have them paged if you can’t get a hold of them) and ask them what you can do for them. If it’s not an emergency warranting going to the emergency room, a lot of times the doctor can advise you until you do get to go to the doctor.

For example, my mom was getting really nauseous. It was flu season, and other than being severely nauseous, she had no other sysmptoms. But she is confined to a wheelchair or bed. She is unable to turn by herself in bed. So this presents a choking hazard. So I called her doctor and told her what was going on and asked her doctor if I could give mom one of my phenergen to stop the nausea. The doctor’s office was closed, it was past 10pm, with a 15 mile drive into the city to the nearest pharmacy. She gave me permssion, I gave mom the phenergan, and the next morning, I picked up a prescription for mom.

But remember, if there is an emergency going on, you should bring whoever is sick to the hospital and not risk trying to diagnose and treat someone yourself. It could turn a simple situation into a bad one. Doctors are always around to call just to ask questions, and most are pretty reasonable too.

 

[angelerulastiel]

I wouldn’t suggest it, but I would not say it would always be immoral.

If there were a situation where someone desperately needed a medication you happened to have been prescribed, you knew what meds they were on (like a husband), and you know about medicines (you’re a nurse, pharmacist, doctor, etc.), and you can’t get them to the hospital in time to help then I would not say it was immoral.

Personally my mom has done this in the past. I sometimes forgot my inhaler when we went on vacation and if I had an asthma attack while hiking she would let me use hers. She knew what she was doing. Does that sound immoral to you?

 

[LilyM]

I wouldn’t suggest it, but I would not say it would always be immoral.

If there were a situation where someone desperately needed a medication you happened to have been prescribed, you knew what meds they were on (like a husband), and you know about medicines (you’re a nurse, pharmacist, doctor, etc.), and you can’t get them to the hospital in time to help then I would not say it was immoral.

Personally my mom has done this in the past. I sometimes forgot my inhaler when we went on vacation and if I had an asthma attack while hiking she would let me use hers. She knew what she was doing. Does that sound immoral to you?

Presuming the conditions you’ve described have been met, then of course not. Of course even in such a situation it is dangerous if, for example, the drug your mother uses to treat her asthma is different to any that you’ve used.

Of course most every moral rule has exceptions of the kind in cases of emergency. Holly, however, did not indicate that there were was any emergency involved or that any of the other circumstances applied, so we advised her accordingly.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi everyone. Is it a mortal sin to give someone a non-narcotic prescription drug that they weren’t prescribed? Note that this is not a narcotic that I gave away as I said above. It is not a controlled substance, it is a prescription medicine but it is not a pain killer or something like that.

not a sin unless it is done with malice and intent to harm, or steal or anything that is a sin, but certainly unwise and possibly dangerous. If someone takes the same thing you do, ran out, and you gave them one of your pills to last until they get to the pharmacy, that might be reasonable, but otherwise, dumb thing to do. Even there you’d have to be careful, dosage might be different or other factors. For instance I was warned never to share my prescription arthritis medicine with anyone, particularly women of child-bearing age, as it is not merely another anti-inflammatory, one ingredient could cause miscarriage in someone not aware she is even pregnant.

 

[Seatuck]

It could be.

Has this person been prescribed this medication by a doctor?
Why can’t they get their own?

Are you willing to take the risk for a serious or even deadly reaction to the medication taking place?
You are not a doctor so you shouldn’t be giving out prescription medication.You have not been educated to perform such a function.