Alberta city debates reversing ban on some pharmacies dispensing methadone

Can—and should—city councils say pharmacies can’t dispense methadone? It’s an issue in open debate in Prince Albert, where zoning rules have prevented pharmacies that are adjacent to residential areas from dispensing the drug since 2018. Pharmacies in other neighbourhoods are allowed to dispense methadone. Pharmacist Amy Lamb, who is co-chairperson of the YWCA board and CEO of the Indigenous Professional Association of Canada, presented to the city council, saying that patients have the right to equitable access, including obtaining methadone from their local pharmacy. She also pointed to its benefits, including lower rates of violent and non-violent crimes, lower incarceration rates, and increased employment. It also saves the healthcare system tens of thousands of dollars for each person who stops using heroin or fentanyl and switches to the legal drug. “I think there is a perception that this is a clinic, and I tried to explain that this is really just a medication,” Lamb said in an interview after the meeting. Read: How does he know I’m on methadone? Door-to-door marketer was pharmacy owner who peeked at competitors’ patient files She also argued that since pharmacy is a self-regulating profession, the city might not have the right to control what services pharmacists offer. One councillor, Dennis Ogrodnick, said, “Should we as a council say these are the medical procedures that are in a drug store or in any store? Should we be able to do that? I don’t know. Will we be sued?” He also discussed a hypothetical case of whether a city could prevent pharmacists from prescribing drugs, such as birth control. The council agreed to look into it further and seek advice from their solicitor. Mayor Greg Dionn said he doesn’t want the number of pharmacies that offer methadone expanded. “When I went to buy my house, I looked at my neighbourhood. I wanted a convenience store. I wanted a gas station. I’m happy that we have a pharmacy. I didn’t want a methadone clinic,” Dionne said. Councillor Blake Edwards, who also works at the local prison, expressed a similar sentiment. “I support the program, and maybe there are some areas where it could be closer, but I certainly don’t support it in the middle of a residential area,” he said. Lamb says she was a little disheartened by comments like these and misinformation about how methadone is dispensed. “It became very clear to me that one way or another, there, it’s just the beginning of work that needs to be done to advocate for programs, people and communities that need services,” she says. Read: Buprenorphine safer than methadone during pregnancy for opioid-use disorder

Alberta city debates reversing ban on some pharmacies dispensing methadone

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