By Charles Lefebvre

Pharmacist says he wants to help patients when marijuana is legalized

Feb 27, 2018 | 9:45 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A local pharmacist believes his profession should be among the front lines for discussion about the impending legalization of marijuana.

“We have done extensive education and study researching it, so that we’re aware of what’s happening,” said Greg Bueckert, pharmacist at Greg’s Remedies. “We’re concerned for health, and that’s with everything people consume, whether it’s licensed drugs or otherwise.”

Medical marijuana is currently prescribed through a patient’s doctor, and the prescription can be filled at a pharmacy, with the item delivered to a patient’s home.

Marijuana is set to be legalized for recreational use this summer. Cities are currently working to develop regulations regarding where the drug can be sold or stored.

Currently, pharmacists cannot be in possession of any cannabis product in their pharmacies, because of a lack of regulations surrounding the item.

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The Alberta College of Pharmacists believes cannabis should not be carried in pharmacies until more research is conducted, noting medical cannabis is not yet subject to the same controls and standardization required of prescription drugs.

“Once we can assure that cannabis produced for medical purposes has been standardized with quality controls that are at least as consistent as those for prescription drugs, and once better evidence is available about its efficacy to support pharmacists and other health professionals to make more informed decisions and provide more consistent advice about its proper use, then and only then should cannabis for medical use be considered for distribution through Alberta pharmacies,” said Greg Eberhart, ACP Registrar, in a news release last year.

Bueckert says opinions among pharmacists regarding the legalization of marijuana run the full spectrum of those in favour to those completely opposed. He is personally in favour of legalization, as long as it’s done properly.

“This is long overdue, it should have been done a long time ago,” he said. “It has its uses, it’s not the panacea that everybody is saying it is, but it has its uses, and it also has its negative side effects. Our job is to screen for that, make sure that there is no interactions, contraindications or underlying disease states that would be made worse by using marijuana.”

Bueckert reminds residents that pharmacists are still a trusted voice in the health care system when it comes to marijuana or other drugs.

“We’re the closest face-to-face of the health care system,” he said. “We’re here to help. That’s our goal, that’s what we’re trained to do, and that’s our oath we took.”