I live in a small northern ontario cummunity and I am a cashier at the grocery store. Often natives come in and buy hair spray or mouth wash, and I never know what to do. So I just sell it to them.
Should I be saying something? Or refusing to sell? Are there laws against this?
What would anyone else do? Opinions please?

Do they tell you how they use these products? If not, how do you know they are misusing them?

It is none of your business. I live in Ontario too. Unless you want to report it to the local authorities. Or a band member who will monitor the situation.

It is none of your business. I live in Ontario too. Unless you want to report it to the local authorities. Or a band member who will monitor the situation.
In other words, it is a native problem and they prefer to deal with their own.

So you're prejudice against natives and you assume that they're using these products for purposes other than they're intended use. That's really the bottom line.

If you own the store you can pick your clientele. It's not a smart thing to do as it limits your sales to those people you hand pick to shop in your store, but if you own the store, and don't care about profit, you can refuse to sell to anyone you want.

If you're just a cashier, work for the store, you have no right to refuse anyone, especially since you have no proof that the people you want to refuse, are doing anything illegal. It's just your prejudice.

A shop can refuse to sell to anyone they want, but they cannot violate civil rights of any individual.

So if you think 'natives' use hair spray and mouthwash to get high, be careful how you decide that. If you have no basis other than their culture or race (and of course you might be wrong going by looks), then you are breaking the law.

As for people buying mouthwash, I have seen drugstores keep a kind of protein drink behind the counter that has a bit of mouthwash alcohol in it and beef broth and vitamins. Maybe no one manufactures that anymore, I don't know. It was a chance to help alcoholics. There but for the grace of God go I and all that. What will turning them away do, if they are not stumbling drunk and obvious? No good at all. They will go elsewhere, but more than that, they will be more depressed and defeated and rejected than they already are.

As a cashier, ( and I could stereotype that job to death also) you are just an employee and you have no right to decide anything. You can talk to the owner of the store and see if they want to do something like that. My guess will be no, since the store would not want to be sued and would not want to lose all the other business.

As a cashier, ( and i could stereotype that job to death also) you are just an employee and you have no right to decide anything. You can talk to the owner of the store and see if they want to do something like that. My guess will be no, since the store would not want to be sued and would not want to lose all the other business.

Hey now Chuck. I'm a cashier. :(

Hey now Chuck. I'm a cashier. :(

It's OK... I think he was making the comment that you could pretty much stereotype anything... that's how I read it. I sell used cars... you want to talk about people stereotyping you based on what you do... whew.

It's ok...I think he was making the comment that you could pretty much stereotype anything....that's how I read it. I sell used cars....you want to talk about people stereotyping you based on what you do.....whew.
Do you own a plaid sports jacket?

Do you own a plaid sports jacket?

LOL!

SEE THAT?

Actually, I go against the stereotype. I am honest (too honest I am told) and I wear jeans and a t-shirt with my company name. No gold chains. No sports jackets. No toupees.

No toupees.
Are you bald or balding? (Those kinds of men are the most sexy.)

Nishnabes, indains call them whatever. To be honest I'm metis. I'm not racist? Anyway. I know they are drinking it because they are Severely inhebriated when they come to my until

nishnabes, indains call them whatever. to be honest im metis. im not racist? anyways. i know they are drinkin it because they are SEVERLY inhebriated when they come to my til
Then call your supervisor.

Actually, one man enganged into a drunken argument with me around the later hours of my shift. I'm glad I had all the other customers there , they even said they would have helped me if I needed it!! Jeeze you guys are really rude, I was only looking for some oponions on what someone else would do in my shoes. I'm not prejudice or racist, or whatever. It's a very known thing in my town, behind the tracks there is a huge hole in the ground... full of empty hair spray bottles and mouth wash containers...

Sorry it's hard for me to type in the dark! :(

Here's what gets me going, I'm also a bartender, and I know when I serve someone alcohol I owe them a duty of care. Isn't the same for selling them hair spray? What if they got into a accident or something happened to them? Wouldn't it be my fault for selling them that product knowing what they do with it?

Wouldnt it be my fault for selling them that product knowing what they do with it?

No... because the product is not designed to be used in that way and you are not expected to know what they are doing with it. There is no way you can truly know without any bit of doubt that when they buy it, it is only for drinking and not being used the way it is intended to be used.

You are putting way too much thought into this. You have already received plenty of good advice and answers here.

Does it make any different what so ever they are men buying hair spray bottles? Single men... anyway, none of this was helpful really but I'll continue to repress my awkward and negative feelings at the until. LOL

All I can say is that you talk to your supervisor about this. Other than that, what can you possibly do?

And you say this wasn't helpful but what did you want or expect? We told you how it is... should we have just lied to you instead? The fact is, you're a cashier... you don't make the rules. You don't get to decide who buys what and who doesn't. Beyond that, there isn't much of anything you can do... so how could we have been more helpful?

Just that I already did ask my superviser. She didn't seem to care. So basically I guess I should take a cue from her and you guys and also stop caring? Is what I gather. It's just not helpful, but I guess you are right when you say there isn't MUCH I could do in the first place and that its not my place to try

Just don't really know how to deal with it. Like, it depresses me a little bit... who would have known being a cashier was so heavy lol

Just don't really know how to deal with it. Like, it depresses me a little bit... who would have known being a cashier was so heavy lol
A mother may buy aspirin to poison her baby, but that's not something you worry about or can control. Only if she tells you, then report it to your supervisor. And it's till, not until.

Huh, I would have never thought that it was with two L's... thanks !

Just don't really know how to deal with it. Like, it depresses me a little bit... who would have known being a cashier was so heavy lol

Don't get me wrong... I completely understand this point of view... I do. I also think it shows that you're a decent person because you do care. But caring or not isn't what makes the difference here based on what you asked. It is sad that this is being done but at some point you just need to step back and remind yourself that it is out of your hands and these people choose to do this of their own free will. Doesn't make it right... but you know...

You called us rude, and expected us to know everything about your town, about you, all the things you know, but didn't bother to tell us. We can only go by what you write. If you leave out things, that's on you, not us.

Fact is, even if we had known everything, the advice is still the same. You are a paid employee, not the owner of the store. Therefore you cannot refuse to sell the products carried in your store, to anyone, without just cause. You equate this to alcohol. It's not. Hairspray and mouth wash are not products intended to cause inebriation. There are no laws to govern the purchasing of these products. If you worked in a liquor store and an underage person came in to buy alcohol, then you'd have a legal leg to stand on. But in this case you don't.

If the supervisor doesn't care, then don't let it bother you. If it continues to bother you, then you do have an option, and that's to quit.

Just that I already did ask my superviser. She didnt seem to care. So basically I guess I should take a cue from her and you guys and also stop caring? Is what I gather. It's just not helpful, but I guess you are right when you say there isnt MUCH I could do in the first place and that its not my place to try
During my life, I've worked as a cashier, a waitress, a stock clerk, a teacher, a librarian, a counselor. There are many things I saw that I didn't like, but I knew I had no control over them. I learned I cannot change the world. If I can fix something or try to legally without getting my teeth knocked in, I will do so. The rest I have to let go of, and let God deal with them.

live in a small northern ontario cummunity and I am a cashier at the grocery store. Often natives come in and buy hair spray or mouth wash, and I never know what to do. So I just sell it to them.
Should I be saying something? Or refusing to sell? Are there laws against this?
What would anyone else do? Opinions please?

I don't think you understand how this site works.

We can only advise you according to the information you give. Initially, your post was very judgmental and full of prejudice. Had you mentioned that customers came in to the store intoxicated in the first place, our advice may have been different.

Since mouthwash and hairspray are designated for use other than intoxication, you cannot refuse them to a customer since you don't know, beyond a reasonable doubt, the intended purpose of said items. You can only venture a guess that it will be used for the purpose of intoxication.

If you don't feel comfortable selling it, talk to your store manager. Find out what policies and procedures are in place within the store for situations such as this.

I never thought you are prejudiced just because you single out 'natives.' We all know that poverty and unemployment go hand in hand with drug use in groups who aren't the ones with all the jobs and perks of society. I just said that you can be perceived as violating civil rights by refusing, even if you were the owner of the store.
You have other choices, including doing work in your community to help with any drug centers, job help, counseling. You could say 'I hope you aren't planning to put glue and toxic gasses in your lungs.' Probably won't do much good, but being nice about it and nice in general does help.

Yes, we know what the problem is, some of us are in western Canada and I live in Ontario and am entirely aware of first nation problems and what the kids do to get high; meth and gasoline sniffing are others. It is a way of committing suicide in the long run.They will not go to school because they feel, what is the point. Not true, but how do you convince them otherwise. Our native people are stuck in a hard place, therefore the recent blockades right across the country, and the chief holding up on an island in the Ottawa river, fasting. Don't get me going. Like I said, I know.

I understand where you are coming from, but all you can do is talk to your supervisor and I doubt he will do anything (I would hope he would).

The hairspray & mouthwash are legal to buy & therefore legal to sell. Your concern for their benefit is well intentioned, but they need to arrive at their own crossroads & make the decision to continue or not.

When a person asks for help, be prepared to offer some. Consult w/ a local clinic or rehab center for assistance. See what you may be able to do if/when someone comes to that point. Be careful. Don't try to rescue someone all alone. Show some compassion & maybe give them a phone number.

But before you do any of this, speak w/ the store owner first. They may not want you to do anything.