Assets of Marigold Compounding Natural Pharmacy are to be sold by way of a bailiff sale Monday because the Courtenay establishment is behind on its rent.
According to signs on the door at 576 England Ave. in downtown Courtenay, Marigold owes nearly $29,000 in rent.
Since 2014, Manager Isidore 'Rudy' Sanchez has been under suspension by the College of Pharmacists of BC because of concerns about public safety and health.
According to the college, unsterile and unclean facilities had been used to manufacture a variety of prescription drugs and over-the-counter health products without authority to do so. In addition, human placenta intended for encapsulation was accepted, handled and prepared with little regard for safety protocols when handling human tissue — despite the lack of a proper facility or the regulatory approval to provide it. The college had also said patients were counselled on alternative drug therapies and products "well outside the scope of pharmacy practice and without notification to the original prescriber.”
Marigold had also been shut down in 2010 for similar infractions.
A group dubbed Save Marigold Society formed to support the pharmacy. An October, 2014 rally drew a large crowd of Sanchez supporters at the Courtenay courthouse lawn.
Sanchez could not be reached for comment.