The court ruling fining a supermarket for selling unregistered medicine (see related story) is interesting. It’s the second such case in two months, with the same result.
Only pharmacies, doctors, or shops that have a special permit from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA may officially offer such products in St. Maarten. The prosecution argued that their unauthorised sale could be a health risk.
While the confiscated items reportedly included some “heavy pharmaceuticals” there were also “more innocent” meds such as Advil. These are reportedly widely available without a prescription at drug stores in the Netherlands.
Truth be told, practically every grocery and even gas stations on the Dutch side –apparently illegally – carry light drugs like painkillers, flu symptom suppressants, cough syrup and similar items. One could thus argue that the two food stores charged were being singled out.
However, two wrongs don’t make a right. Just because a law is frequently broken unpunished does not grant those involved immunity.
At the same time, one can’t help but wonder whether the current local relevant legislation isn’t somewhat outdated. For example, the penalty amount of NAf. 450 given probably won’t deter many other potential violators.
A review of the applicable rules and regulations certainly seems warranted at this point, to bring them more in line with today’s reality.
