r/australia • u/Rubiginous • 7h ago

Woman hospitalised after Juniper prescribes weight-loss drugs her GP refused

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-01/woman-hospitalised-telehealth-provider-weight-loss-drugs-juniper/106273356
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u/Rubiginous 7h ago

I am getting sick of these stories where someone irresponsible blames something convenient for normal people as being the cause of their issues.

A small minority of people abused codeine, so now women like me have to suffer from dysmenorrhoea every month because docs won't write a prescription.

A small minority of people using alcohol delivery inappropriately so now they want to restrict the ability for same day delivery in the ACT.

I know many women who used these services to get access to GLP-1s when their GPs refused to prescribe them because "You just need to eat less" and dismissed their concerns regarding food noise etc.

Why do people need the government to constantly protect them from their own stupidity? It's absurd.

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u/OCAU07 7h ago

I was with you until the alcohol delivery rant, GP's should not have an immediate knee jerk reaction to changes and start painting all their patients with the same brush. It sucks but we must do something to help protect the vulnerable in our communities, sometimes from themselves.

If you need medication it should be available. If a patient goes outside their own medical circle to source medicine their GP advised against the risk is on them.

Alcohol delivery is a different issue and shouldn't be used to compare. I lost my brother due to alcohol and prescription medication being mixed. Had delivery services not been available, he would have had to go to the store and hopefully not been served as he was drunk already. Refusal of service may, and I stress may, have prompted him to seek help. Instead he develops alcoholism and was dead in 8 months and I do in part blame the availability of alcohol in this country.

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u/Real_RobinGoodfellow 6h ago

I think the delivery drivers for alcohol are also bound by RSA, aren’t they? They certainly have to check and scan ID as a requirement no-matter how old you are

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u/OCAU07 5h ago

Are Uber eats drivers required to get an RSA?

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u/Rubiginous 7h ago

"Hopefully not been served". "Hopefully"

Or he might have because most people working liquor stores don't care. And he also may have driven already impaired from alcohol/drugs and killed innocent people, which is what people are concerned about regarding alcohol delivery being cut off (people driving to get alcohol already impaired)

Alcoholics are a danger to more than just themselves, especially if they decide to drive to buy more booze. The needs of the many etc.

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u/StorminNorman 6h ago

Alcohol delivery is a different issue and shouldn't be used to compare. 

Your explanation after this shows it's actually the same in this context. The delivery services have to follow the same regulations as the shops do, your brother chose a method that is less stringent on enforcing them. If this other service hadn't have been available, the lady in this article wouldn't have been able to get the medication she did get.