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A young pharmacist has been reprimanded after he stole 58 oxycodone tablets a day from his workplace to feed a drug habit.
He’ll also need to get a Pharmacy Board-nominated psychiatrist to declare him fit to practice if he wants to return to work as a pharmacist.
The problem began in 2012 when the Victorian man, whose name is known to Pharmacy News, was prescribed oxycodone for a rib injury.
But the next year he began self-administering the drug to cope with a family dispute that started when he and his fiancée became engaged.
He also took alprazolam to try to manage withdrawal symptoms, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard.
The man’s habit was revealed when the owner of the pharmacy told AHPRA it was suspected the young pharmacist had been stealing oxycodone and alprazolam.
A subsequent investigation found he had escalated from taking one oxycodone tablet a day to 58 a day by the time the thefts were uncovered.
He’d also taken at least 2700 alprazolam 2mg tablets between 14 June 2014 and 5 July 2014, when it became a controlled drug.
The man, who has not worked as a pharmacist for three years, was recently brought before the tribunal to determine if his behaviour constituted professional misconduct.
While the tribunal found him guilty of professional misconduct, it noted the pharmacist was remorseful.
However, medical evidence suggested he had ongoing vulnerability to stressors, which could impact on his ability to practice as a pharmacist.
If he does return to pharmacy the man will need to be supervised for at least nine months and have no access to schedule 8 drugs.
“It goes without saying that the respondent’s conduct reflects an abuse of the trust of the owner and customers of the pharmacy and of the community and has brought the profession into disrepute,” the tribunal said.