The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association’s (BPA) president yesterday accused the Government of making “catastrophic changes” via the medical marijuana Bills that will cause the profession’s “downfall”.

Dr Marvin Smith, in a statement to Association members, blasted the Davis administration for what he asserted was its failure to properly consult the group and wider pharmaceutical industry on its plans to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries.

He argued that it has “chosen to ignore serious concerns that we raised” even though the reforms to the Pharmacy Act, via the Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill 2024, appear to give the sector much of what it wanted by placing all registered cannabis dispensaries under “the supervision” of licensed pharmacists.

The Bill, which has been tabled in the House of Assembly, stipulates: “No person shall, unless he is registered as a cannabis dispenser under the Health Professions Act (Chaper 233) make use of the title of ‘cannabis dispenser’.”

Then, through the insertion of a new section 10A into the existing Act, it mandates that pharmacists must have “supervision” over all cannabis dispensaries. “Every cannabis dispensary shall be under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist who shall be responsible for the oversight of the cannabis dispensary,” the Bill states.

“Specifically, this Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of a type of pharmacy to be known as a ‘cannabis dispensary’.” Dr Smith, though, appeared to object to the fact that a “cannabis dispenser” does not seemingly have to be a licensed, qualified pharmacist - with the latter simply operating in a supervisory role.

Arguing that this aspect of the Bill is a “first step” in seeking to replace the role pharmacists have in patient care, Dr Smith blasted: “These are the facts. As with the price control matter, the Government has once again insisted on making catastrophic changes to the pharmacy sector without consulting with the official body that represents our profession.

“It has chosen to ignore serious concerns that we raised, and instead has chosen to take counsel from persons who, for the most part, have extremely limited experience and even less direct investment into how our profession actually performs. The BPA will once again seek to intervene as best we can in the best interests of our members and the profession.

“To be clear, the replacement of direct pharmacist involvement in the dispensing of medical cannabis can only be seen as the first step in the attempt to replace one of the key roles of pharmacists in patient care. I know a small (but vocal) number of pharmacists believe that by ‘supervising cannabis dispensers’ they can make more money,” he continued.

“But they are only facilitating the death of their own profession. If under-trained staff can dispense a controlled substance without the pharmacist, how long will it be before the requirement for pharmacists to dispense all medications is removed? This short-sighted greed will be the downfall of the profession. Think about how ludicrous this really is…they want persons who will take a three-month course to dispense a controlled substance.”

Dr Smith told BPA members: “I urge each of you to think about the larger consequences, and do not allow for the allure of what seems like easy money to blind you. The best way for medical cannabis to be used in health care is for the professionals best equipped for healthcare (physicians, nurses and pharmacists) to specifically manage our patients who actually need the medication, in concert with all the other medications they will also be using.

“I will close with this…I’ve practiced for 25 years with one mantra. I treat every patient as if they were my own mother. Would you want your mother to be getting a controlled medication from an unqualified person off the street who has no knowledge of all the other medications she may be using? Well, every Bahamian is ‘our mother’ and we owe it to all of them to protect their health.”

Dr Smith asserted that the BPA was only invited to, and attended, one consultation session with the Government on the medical marijuana legislation and associated reforms impacting pharmacists, which took place last summer.

“The BPA received the draft from the Office of the Prime Minister in the fall and, after we held several consultations with membership, we forwarded a formal response to the Office of the Prime Minister in December 2023. That document was also forwarded to the BPA membership,” he added.

“Since December 2023, the BPA has not received any communication from the Government of the Bahamas concerning these Bills or our formal response and recommendations in that document. Last week I was informed that Government held meetings with hand-picked representatives about the Bills, but the BPA was excluded. I reached out to the president of the Medical Association and was informed that they also were excluded.”