So I get off work the other day at midnight or 1AM and since I have a case of the sniffles I decide to go to the grocery store for some cold medicine. It's locked up. This is because it is apparently against the law in Nova Scotia to buy over the counter cold medicine (syrup, pills etc) without a pharmacist on duty.

So let me get this straight, when there's a pharmacist on duty, I can walk up to the shelf, take the medicine, pay for it at the checkout without interacting with the pharmacist at all, but he legally has to be there? This stinks of big government BS. I was albe to buy these same pills at a gas station in Quebec. Non prescription drugs are on the shelf anyway and I can freely take as many as I want without saying one word to the pharmacist. I should be able to do the same if there is not one present. Someone please tell me why it should matter if there is a pharmacist present or not for me to buy cold meds. —Too many rules