A discipline hearing for suspended Courtenay pharmacist Isidore ‘Rudy’ Sanchez will start later this month at the College of Pharmacists of BC in Vancouver. The dates are Oct. 16-18 and Nov. 6-10. Hearings are open to the public.
Sanchez, who managed Marigold Compounding Natural Pharmacy in downtown Courtenay, has been under suspension since 2014 due to concerns about public safety and health.
According to the college, unsterile and unclean facilities were 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 and prepared with little regard for safety protocols when handling human tissue — despite the lack of a proper facility or approval to provide it. The college also says patients were counselled on alternative drug therapies and products “well outside the scope of pharmacy practice and without notification to the original prescriber.”
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 had served a previous year-and-a-half suspension for similar infractions after Marigold was shut down in 2010.