Alex Swanson is a pharmacist in a modern chain pharmacy located in a new strip mall in a trendy suburb of a major metropolitan area. Alex got a telephone call one day from a nearby community pharmacist who is part of a “hot line” to alert area pharmacists about suspicious prescriptions. The message is that a 30-year-old black male is attempting to pass a prescription for oxycodone, and the prescription appears very worn, as if many people have handled it. The pharmacist tells Alex, “The best thing to do is just say you’re out of the drug.

There’s no sense in asking for trouble.” Just as Alex hangs up the telephone, he sees a black male standing at the counter. Sure enough, he has a prescription for oxycodone 10 mg, #60, with directions for one tab every 12 hours for pain. The name of the patient on the prescription is John Smith. The paper on which the order is written is a bit frayed on the edges. Alex feels that the prescription looks authentic. It is from the major teaching hospital downtown and is written by a doctor that Alex has heard of. Alex calls the hospital, using the telephone number listed in the phone book. He is referred to the hematology department, where he finally locates a resident who knows the prescriber and the patient.

The prescriber is out. The resident assures Alex that the prescription is valid. Alex fills the prescription. Two weeks later, Alex is visited by the local police, who tell him that the prescription he filled was a photocopy. The person who presented the prescription was not the patient but a friend of the patient. The oxycodone tablets Alex dispensed were sold on the playground of the local junior high school.
List three factors that suggest Alex might not have met his responsibility. List three factors that suggest Alex might have met his responsibility. Can you conclude that Alex “knowingly” dispensed the invalid prescription? Is race a factor in this incident? Why or why not?