(File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Susan McNeil

Opioid addiction

Legal review results in no expansion of methadone dispensaries in Prince Albert

Jul 17, 2023 | 6:00 PM

A legal review of local pharmacist Amy Lamb’s assertion that zoning restrictions on where methadone can be given out might be illegal has resulted in no changes to what the city allows right now.

City council received a confidential review that concluded that they are on legally solid ground restricting dispensing rights to six zonings.

“The City Solicitor has advised that none of the arguments put forward by the pharmacist had merit under legal analysis, and none of the arguments would constitute a basis upon which the zoning bylaw restrictions could be quashed or otherwise declared invalid,” read the briefing note on Monday’s agenda.

At least three councillors were in favour of allowing expanded access but were not able to outvote the six that were opposed.

Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp said she does not believe that restricting the locations methadone can be available is being done for the right reasons.

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“My concern is that this restriction is not evidence-based. We’re not making this decision based on evidence of what a healthy community entails and whether or not methadone dispensaries are part of a healthy community,” she said.

Mayor Greg Dionne said he would not support the motion.

“I believe that the amendments and the policy that we have now work and that we should leave it alone and not tamper with it,” he said.

Coun. Blake Edwards said he heard from a ‘large volume’ of people who do not want the program expanded and believe the current method is working fine.

“We also have to worry about the health of other residents and sometimes their words matter as well and so I won’t be supporting the motion,” he said.

Along with Lennox-Zepp, Councillors Charlene Miller and Tony Head voted in favour of expanded access while all other councillors at the meeting voted against it.

Dionne mentioned that in his neighbourhood of Crescent Acres, they enjoy having a pharmacy nearby but when it tried to get permission to dispense methadone, the application was withdrawn because of the sheer volume of negative reactions that resulted when the news came out.

According to the information provided to council on July 17, council was told in 2017 that methadone clinics were considered medical clinics in the zoning bylaw.

They then modified the bylaw to list methadone clinics as discretionary use in commercial and institutional zoning districts, which means specific permission must be given before the use is allowed.

When Lamb presented to council last November, she stated that it might be illegal for council to prevent pharmacists from using their full scope of practice, which includes the ability to dispense methadone.

“These particular zoning bylaws also directly oppose the rights of Canadians via the Canada Health Act and the Health Charter for Canadians,” said Lamb in her original submission. “The present bylaws reduce accessibility and fundamentally eliminate the right to freedom of choice.”

She concluded that the zoning restriction superseded the authority of the pharmacist by limiting their services and that authority is only granted by the College of Pharmacy Professionals in Saskatchewan.

That position is at odds with the city’s own analysis of their legal position, conducted with the help of solicitor Mitch Holash.

The administrative brief to council concludes that all self-regulating professions are affected by zoning regulations in one way or another and that land use regulations are done under the City’s legislative authority and do not encroach on the scope of practice for professions such as pharmacists.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com