I saw a whole rack of 6 packs at the local CVS just the other day. If they're there they're probably some place else.

BTW teenage pregnancy is currently at 20+ year lows.

Drugstores, supermarkets, convenience stores. Condoms are sold everywhere.

Now, getting a 16-year-old to carry a pack of condoms to the checkout counter is another matter altogether, but they're readily available.

Mostly because we were too embarrassed to buy some the normal way. A roll of quarters would get you all you needed but with considerable markup.

I sure didn't, but nobody told me.

were illegal in California for sale to people under the age of 21. Even worse, they could only be sold at the pharmacy counter. So, obtaining them required the assistance of an adult. Every package had this printed on it: "For Prevention of Disease Only."

That was the doing of the Roman Catholic Church in California. For us teens, it was the work of the Devil. It was also the cause of many, many teen pregnancies.

I worked as a checker at a grocery store in college. I saw some unusual combos but nothing I got really interested in.

I read that title - and the first two sentences - thinking you were referring to erasers.

I'll go toddle off to my rocking chair now . . .


And yes, I agree that condoms should be more readily available. Along with excellent and comprehensive sex education.

I thought the same thing!

I've got an extra rocker on the porch on some yarn that needs winding . . .

There are plenty of euphemisms for condoms.

So you probably should be able to buy a basic, 25 cent condom, but Trojan Inc. says no.

I'm sure you can find a source for bulk condoms. Package them and sell them for a quarter if you think it would be a good business model. I'm thinking it wouldn't be a good business model, or they'd be available that way already.

They used to be. Condom dispensers were fairly common, back in the day. Now that they're displayed openly everywhere, not so much.

I saw that episode of Seinfeld with the colored condoms.

Heh, no I'm not starting a business.

individual condoms are available in vending machines in the men's room of every convenience store that I ever visit. They're typically $0.75 apiece, but even if a shy lad has especially high aspirations, he can purchase a half-dozen for $4.50, which is cheaper than a box of 12 at a buck apiece.

weren't available in California in vending machines. When we visited Arizona, where they were, I stocked up. I also had an adult friend who would get them when asked.

and for throw in another .75 and you can get an erotic surprise grab bag for mutual pleasure

How can a business get a license to sell a substance that implies slipping it into a drink surreptitiously, just like actual date-rape drugs - even if it's just an ersatz compound anyway? Even if it's technically legal, it's unethical as hell.

Nowadays I'm too old to give a fuck; I just throw them up there on the checkout belt along with the Cheetos, peanut butter and Dora the Explorer socks and look at the worker like I'm daring them to say something.

However, when I was a teenager, I would literally circle the condom isle like a jackal skittishly eying a lion kill, trying to time the best moment to shoot in, grab something and run like hell. No time to price check or weight the pros and cons of ribbed, lubed, flavored, etc, just grab whatever's closest and get the hell out of there.

Then came the dreaded check-out moment. Scanning the check-outs to find the most sympathetic worker there. Not the old church lady, she'll look at you like you're a pervert. Not the cute young woman, she might giggle when you put them up on the belt. Best to find another guy, preferably one slightly older and more worldly that will just give you a knowing smile and head bob.

If a kid is willing to blow $3 every day on a Red Bull or Monster energy drink, a $1 condom is NOT an issue.

while they do have to be fitted by a doctor and are more expensive, they are far more durable than a condom and can be used multiple times. Personally, as an old woman looking back in time, the PILL was far better and safer than any barrier method.

....

bought a box of them and put them in a neutral location where the kid could get to them without being watched. The parent would check the drawer once a week and replenish when necessary on grocery day and without comment. The teenagers were both sexes.

The one who didn't ended up with a surprise grandchild from her 16 year old daughter.

It seems kids who are too bashful to buy them will use them if they're made available.

Really?

the line was ;
No Glove No Love!

another is;
Don't be a fool wrap your tool.

denying the medical technology for unwanted and accidental pregnancy is like having a "position" against antibiotics for infections.

dumb as shit.