A pharmacist who used his representation in pharmacies across Quebec to steal psychostimulants intended for people with attention deficit disorders was sentenced to eight months’ radiation on his orders.
After working for three years in a pharmacy in Coaticook, Étienne Dauphin decided To with an employment agency as a substitute. He aspired to visit Quebec to balance his two passions: pharmacy and photography.
However, in the summer of 2017, the pharmacist began using over-the-counter stimulants for the central nervous system — such as those known by the names Ritalin, Concerta, Dexedrine, or Vyvance — which he purchased directly from the inventory of the pharmacies where he replaces . In almost two years, Dauphin replaced mines in southern Quebec from Ayer’s Cliff to Thetford, but also in the north at Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Puvirnituq near Baie-James.
The choice of pharmacies where he works is not trivial, according to the Disciplinary Board of the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec, which recently published its decision: “[Étienne Dauphin] is aimed at pharmacies whose internal control system they consider favorable.”
Caught in action
The pharmacist went so far as to write a false prescription for 75 methylphenidate tablets, using the name and registration number of his doctor. However, an apothecary-owner of three stores in the Eastern Townships notices inventory discrepancies and notes a correlation between these and Étienne Dauphin’s replacements.
In addition, in June 2019, the defendant was filmed without his knowledge taking drugs from a stash to pack in his backpack. Dauphin is confronted with this owner and will admit he stole small amounts of drugs “to stay focused and avoid distractions from surrounding noise,” which will lead to an investigation by the Syndic of the Order of Quebec Pharmacists.
In the meantime, Étienne Dauphin takes matters into his own hands, consults a doctor who issues him a formal prescription and certifies to the pharmacist in January 2020 that he can practice his profession again. Étienne Dauphin even gets a job in Granby after revealing the alleged facts to his employer.
In addition to the theft of psychostimulants from the three Estrie pharmacies valued at $1,780 and the prescription of 75 pills, the Syndic of the Order of Pharmacists’ investigation has not quantified the number of drugs stolen from the 14 pharmacies affected. Étienne Dauphin, however, would have a “[u]immoderate sage of psychotropic drugs” for two years, a phrase that sows doubts as to whether he is really “trustworthy”.
However, the pharmacist has returned to work, is being tested and has been unknowingly monitored for the past year and a half. The man who pleaded guilty to 29 disciplinary offenses was therefore given eight months’ radiation.
The pharmacist was not prosecuted.
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