A CBC News investigation into pharmacies that paid kickbacks to drug addicts discovered one outlet with a troubled past used a different tactic to get and keep methadone users coming to the pharmacy. People's Pharmacy in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has required certain customers to fill their methadone prescriptions exclusively with them, or lose their homes. George Wolsey, a pharmacist at People's, also runs the nearby Wonder Hotel. Wolsey made it a condition in his agreement with the tenants that they must be on B.C.'s taxpayer-funded methadone program and must get all the prescriptions filled at People's Pharmacy. "Everybody in the building has the same rules and regulations," said Teresa Baillie, one of Wolsey's tenants.
The British Columbia government pays pharmacists $16.30 for every daily dose of methadone they dispense. If a pharmacy can get an addict to fill all of their prescriptions at its outlet, it receives approximately $6,000 a year in dispensing fees, just for that customer. One hundred loyal methadone customers would bring the business more than half a million dollars annually — and it's all taxpayer money. Documents obtained by CBC show a handful of Wonder Hotel residents have been evicted for not complying with the pharmacy rule. Baillie said she was shocked when she switched pharmacies back in July and Wolsey promptly evicted her without any notice.
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Surrey limits methadone dispensers CBC News
The City of Surrey wants to crack down on the number of methadone-only drug stores concentrated in the Whally area of the Vancouver suburb. Surrey Mayor Diane Watts said the proliferation of methadone-dispensing drug stores attracts addicts on methadone maintenance programs from all over the Lower Mainland. Following a public hearing Tuesday night, city council adopted a new bylaw that prevents new methadone pharmacies from being set up within 400 metres from existing ones. The executive director of the Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association, Lesley Tannen, there are already 18 pharmacies in the area, which are also attracting drug dealers to the area.
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