age limit to buy condoms

[dpressedone89]

i was wondering, my friend asked me to buy him condoms becuase well he was embarrassed i guess, so i go into the store and i went to the counter and asked, they wouldnt sell them to me because i am not 18.

do you have to be 18 to buy condoms?

[hurtabandoned]

I have never heard of that and I have worked in a drug store. I think that refusing to sell condoms to anyone is irresponsible.

 

I think that the person that you asked probably had a moral objection to selling condoms to a minor.

[easyguy]

If 18 in your state is the legal minimum age to have sex then I would assume that 18 would also be the legal age to buy condoms because they are used during sex. Selling condoms to a minor wouldn't be abiding by the law. Unfortuntely, some people out there like going on power trips.

 

Underage sex is more popular than ever now. I highly doubt an adult would be encouraging it, even if it was by promoting safe sex.

[dpressedone89]

well, the thing is where i live you can go and get like a 3 pack free at the health center, unfortuanatel the health center is so far from my house and where i was at that time that i just go to normal stores. if its legal to give them away free, why cant they sell them. they've sold me condoms before, but the may be just looking the other way, like they sell me other things im not old enough to buy all the time so im not sure

[easyguy]

They're free at health centers because it promotes safe sex. However, I don't think that the ones who decided to give them out for free were thinking that they would be so popular with the underage kids.

[dpressedone89]

but its a youth health center, ages 10-17 only they only deal with underaged kids

[wlfpack81]

What's the age of consent in your state? If it's below 16 then more than likely you ran into someone w/a power trip. Kind of like certain pharmacists refusing ti sell birth control b/c of their religious beliefs. Mind you those who work in brand stores like CVS, Rite-Aid not some private 'Mom & Pop' store where they can do as they want since they own it personally.

[dpressedone89]

the age of consent is 16, but the legal age is 18.i was at a rite-aid and i went i brought them to the counter and handed the guy some money and he just said i cant sell those to you, i asked why and he said because it was illegal to be haing sex at my age.

[Minty80]

It was an irresponsible jerk on a power trip. There is no state that has an age restriction on buying condoms. You can legally buy condoms at any age no matter the age of consent in your state. The guy you ran into probably has a strong religious belief against pre-marital sex and decided on his own to lie and not sell them to you.

 

If I were you I'd be raising some ruckus. It's completely insane to be refusing to sell condoms to someone because they are under 18. I'd at the very least be writing to the store manager and you could even contact someone at a local health clinic, like the free one you mentioned. People should be aware that there is a pharmacist out there scaring kids out of making safer sex choices.

[RayKay]

No there is no restriction, but it was probably at the employee's "discretion" and if it was a private drug store, there may be little you can do about it. If it is a chain, you could try filing a complaint with the head office about it. Legally, they are permitted to refuse you as a customer however - it is their right as a business unfortunately (you will find in high substance abuse areas often stores will refuse to sell things like glue, spray paint and so on too).

 

There are also regulations that "permit" a pharmacist to refuse to dispense the morning after pill or birth control pills if they feel it is not within their own moral guidelines. Which leaves some women in quite a bind needless to say.

 

Find another drug store, or go to a free health clinic for free (or low pay condoms).

 

It sucks, I know, and he was likely trying to enforce his beliefs on you....which is really 'smart' considering now you still want sex but have no protection.....

[dpressedone89]

my friend and i called the health center and reported them but the person we talked to said she didnt know if they could do anything about it.i told him id be sure to name my unplanned child after him and he just asked me to leave the store.i know they have the right to refuse service to anyone but he had no reason. i guess i need a new drugstore or something i cant go to the health center because its too far away its weird they'd never refused to sell them to me before.

[Minty80]

If it was at rite-aid you can call 1-800-riteaid to find out if they have some sort of store policy about this.

 

It could be very well that this guy was going against what the store policy is, and while there are certain things that protect pharmacists against selling things against their religious beliefs most chain stores have a policy where if one person won't sell it to you they have to find another who will.

 

If nothing else log a complaint about how horribly irresponsible this guy was for giving out false info. It would be one thing had he said he had a religious conviction against selling condoms. It's completely different that he outright lied to you and said it was because it's illegal to buy condoms under the age of eighteen. Who knows how many kids he has scared away from buying condoms who are know going to have unsafe sex because they think they have no choice!

[heart_breaker47]

ya and you can get them in those little machines at the gas stations in the bathrooms and stuff so i don't htink it's illegal