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Comment by al_borland | Hacker News Reader

For those outside of the US looking to answer, here is some context from the US. “Drug stores” in the US double as convenience stores. There is a pharmacy in the back along with over the counter medications, but they also sell cosmetics, basic prepackaged food, toys, alcohol, magazines, greeting cards, and other such things. It’s not like Americans are buying carts full of drugs. I also think drug stores generally have the small baskets, not the large carts one might find at a grocery store.

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Really it's the opposite. It's called a pharmacy, but in practice it is a convenience store first, and a pharmacy second. Often times the pharmacy is closed, has restricted hours, is understaffed, etc.

Not really. Walgreens and CVS are basically this, and many of them have 24 hour pharmacies.

Where in the US do you live that you have easy access to a 24 hour pharmacy?

In my corner of the USA the only 24 hour pharmacy is in the children's hospital, about 15 miles away from my house.

I have three hospitals with ERs within 5 miles but no pharmacy.

Walgreens has quite a few around here. It’s something they advertise.

They were much more common before Covid, when places like Walmart were 24 hours.

Any major metropolitan area. Walgreens has dozens of 24 hour pharmacies in the Chicago metro area: https://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?24-hour-phar...

Today I learned another reason that despite appearances Baltimore is not a "major metropolitan area". I'm not being sarcastic, it really doesn't have the economy of one.

But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access.

> But I also wonder if it's just the very largest cities that have easy 24 hour pharmacy access.

I live near a city with population of about 50k. It has a 24 hour Walgreens.

Wow! I live in a city which is fifteen times larger, and there is no Walgreens open later than 10 PM (nor Rite Aid, nor Bartell); the pharmacies generally close by 8. I wonder why some places get better service than we do?

I live in suburban Detroit, and there's a few 24 hour CVS and Walgreen's near me.

There's both a Walgreens and a CVS near me, and both of their pharmacies close at 6pm. The nearest 24hour pharmacy is not quite two hours away.

I would describe German drug stores in the same way (except that they don't contain a pharmacy and can't sell over the counter drugs). Smaller drug stores in big cities have a few small carts if any but often it's just baskets that you carry. Larger ones usually have carts. I don't think it's odd for them to have carts though, drug stores sell a lot of cleaning stuff which can be heavy and toilet paper which can fill up a cart pretty quick.

> I would describe German drug stores in the same way (except that they don't contain a pharmacy and can't sell over the counter drugs)

So, in the USA they are called "drug stores" because they sell... drugs. Prescription and over the counter. Are these really called drug stores, or using the German word for drugs, even though they don't sell them... because of their overlap with the non-drug business that the American ones have come to donate more square feet (and prob more revenue) to? Or for other reasons unrelated to USA practice?

They are called "Drogerie" or "Drogeriemarkt" which could be quite translated to drug store. Just like in the other comment about the Netherlands, a pharmacy is called "Apotheke" in Germany and only they are allowed to sell prescription drugs and most over-the-counter drugs. You can't get Aspirin or Ibuprofen in a Drogeriemarkt here. I think traditionally the line was more blurred between pharmacies and drug stores but regulations changed that and our drug stores became some kind of specialized (mainly non-food) supermarkets.

I'm actually not sure if the definition of over-the-counter drugs can be applied in the same way in Germany. We have prescription drugs and non-prescription drugs. Non-prescription drugs are still limited to be sold by pharmacies only by default, for example Ibuprofen (but only in small quantities). Some selected categories of less potent drugs or pharmaceutical products can be sold by any store (and even then only if they can prove they employ someone with sufficient expertise).

Don't know how they are called in Germany but I guess it's similar as in the Netherlands: These "non drug" stores are called a "drogisterij" (and the English translation will be 'drugstore'), which is from a "chemist's shop" which in the past used to sell all kinds of stuff including medicine. These days the real drugstores are now solely called "apotheken" (pharmacies), I guess to distinguish them from each other.

There is some overlap with the two as the pharmacies also sell OTC drugs. edit: The pharmacy where I used to live as a kid was more of a drug store in the US sense with a pharmacy in the back, which also acts as the cashier, and the rest of the store was filled with all kinds of household products like beauty and cleaning.

> alcohol

Please tell me it's not the drinking kind?

Like they said, it doubles as a convenience store. In the states where convenience stores can sell alcohol (most of them), yes.

Yes, but at least at CVS they no longer sell cigarettes https://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/05/health/cvs-cigarettes/ind...

It’s changed now, I’m sure, but growing up in Indiana there were two places to buy hard liquor: liquor store, and the drug store. And the drug store was often cheaper.

I’ve always wondered what convoluted logic lead to passing such a law in 1889, or whenever they thought it was a good idea.

Where I am (Ohio, USA), drug stores like CVS/Wallgreens sell beer, wine.

Hard liquor over a certain alcohol percent is only available at a state liquor agency.

And cigarettes in Nevada

In Washington state, drug stores dedicate as much or more space to booze, including high proof liquors, as they do to medical goods.

It is a *drug* store.

Why not?

In many parts of world, it would be seen ironic. Like a gym selling junk food.

Like protein bars?

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