Pharmacist issued with warning for possession of cocaine

Wow ! Blimey that was a luck escape back in my day that was a hanging offence 5 years prison & struck off for life !
Something similar happened to a fellow pharmacist in late 80s who graduated from portsmouth he had only recently qualified and got struck off & prison sentence anyone remember that case ?
must have had an amazing barrister representing him?

To gary, back in your day? exactly how many years ago was this? there probably was not even a proper regulatoring body then... and I think his caution is suffice, he only had temporary possession of it how do you know he was just not taking it from his friend to get rid of it, he should not be struck off for one small mistake its not as if he was using it! And also you have to understand pharmacists are not super human , they can make mistakes and they should not have to pay for this for the rest of their life.

I think the GPhC is coming through as a fairer regulator than the RPSGB and this is an example of that. Clearly this situation did not warrant striking off and was a momentary lapse of judgement that the pharmacist will probably never have again. No need therefore to treat him as a criminal who intentionally carries, uses and sells drugs to children on the street. We need to keep these matters in proportion.

I can only speak for the last decade but the impression I had of a previous regulator was that you would not get off lightly for something like this. They would probably have said 'you have disgraced the profession and brought it into disrepute' or similar words which they quoted all too often over the smallest of circumstances.

The GPhC has a long way to go in many areas but they, in my opinion, are coming through on their promise to pass fair judgement on situations (i.e. to not victimise pharmacists pointlessly!)

Poor judgement by the society. Anyone in possession of drugs should be struck off. We have to set an example and finding this acceptable is rubbish. Gary Lewis is right. What about this other person who was struck off....time to bring him back maybe..

Wow! Great to see consistency from the GPhC. Just a couple of days ago a pharmacist was suspended from the register for collecting £25 of Tesco clubcard points without permission, yet to be in possession of cocaine, you just get a warning. The question is simple that the GPhC should have asked. Should ANYONE be ever in the possession of cocaine, whatever their profession? If you you are not going to use it, what else could you do with it? Sell it? It is a criminal offence and one that a responsible pharmacist should NEVER commit.
With all the misery that illegal drugs cause in the world, pharmacists should be a setting the example and fighting against such things.
People such as Mr Damji should be made an example of. Life ban from the register and a custodial sentence. You would be surprised how that would focus the mind and prevent future "ill-judgements"!

I think they made the right descision. I'm a doctor with a conviction for possesion and Im doing just fine. The GMC didnt even give me a warning.

Clearly Mr Cygan has no sense of how to regulate a profession. One was an instance of a pharmacist making one mistake and deserved a warning. The other was a pharmacist acting dishonestly and deserved a suspension (regardless of the amount..theft is theft). It seems Mr Cygan would prefer having dishonest pharmacists working then ones who made a mistake. Its a good thing you aren't on the committee or pharmacy would be seen as a backward profession. The reason pharmacy has a bad repuatation with hearings is due to extreme views like Mr Cygan (who clearly thinks he has never made a mistake in his life) You are the part of the past. Move over and get over it. GPhC is now more in line with the GMC and thats a good thing and can finally allow pharmacy to progress without excessive regulaton.

Where is the consistancy in your argument? The pharmacist collecting clubcard points committed a crime and was CORRECTLY punished. Mr Damji ALSO committed a crime and hence should be punished. I would not wish to employ a pharmacist who handles ILLEGAL drugs just as I would not like those that steal clubcard points! Although using your arguments, the pharmacist that obtained clubcard points also "made a mistake"!
Also, where do you draw the line - when does a mistake become a crime?? And anyway, please don't try and comment on "mistakes" that I may have committed in the past. If , according to your definition, being in possession of illegal drugs is a "mistake" then no, I have not made a "mistake"!!

I agree with Ali...My Cygan's argument makes no sense. Another pharmacist with an over inflated sense of how the profession should be regulated. I was convicted for possession and still work as a consultant. Being momentarily in possesion of an illegal drug doesn't warrant striking off. A warning is suffice. Stealing warrants a suspension and is more serious as it is pre-meditated. Get off your high horse. The fact remains, as a consultant I have greater responsibilty towards a patient than a pharmacist and I have been employed since the conviction. I have seen hundreds of cases of doctors caught with illegal drugs and the number that have been struck off is very low. Well done GPhC for giving a warning. Professionals like Mr Cygan are a detriment to the health profession. We need more just action by regulatory bodies and this is proof that stale views like Mr Cygans belong in the dark ages.

And one more thing which shows how outdated Mr Cygans views are is the fact he thinks that pharmacists or doctors get life bans from registers. They can all reapply to be reinstated after 5 years..

ii agree with you absolutely farroq, pharmacist are no angels nor are they super human/infallible. we are real human beings, with feelings and emotions like any other human being walking the face of the earth, as such we are bound to make mistakes, be it dispensing error or whatever. if pharmacist can purge themselves of every mishap in order to avoid facing fitness to practice or others of like ilk, they would, But Mis-takes happen MIS-haps happen and especially outside of the dispensary, where one is least able to make an association between ones action and fitness to practice. remeber we are human beings first, then pharmacist, and our humanity is deeply rooted.

Who are we to judge? I for one would like to see the GPhC handle cases more like the GMC and less like the RPSGB used to.

Mr Damji will have been given a fair hearing and no doubt has learned a very important lesson. The Tesco case should have been handled in the same way and I hope she appeals and gets treated with more compassion.

We need to make sure the public is protected first and action is taken when there is clear evidence of actions that put this at risk. Protecting the reputation of the profession is important too but we need a greater sense of compassion colleagues when they fall short of what we expect in way of standards. More use of cautions and reprimands please on a fixed penalty notice basis. Then we can pay less fees!!!

The GPhC (and some of the commentators) has got this totally wrong. How on earth is it acceptable to merely warn a pharmacist in possession of cocaine when they should be presenting themselves as a beacon of the community when it comes to educating on the misuse of drugs. This pharmacist should have been suspended for at least a year and fined a hefty sum to send a clear message. Mr Damji was caught in possession of cocaine not codeine. Mr Damji was foolish on 3 counts: Firstly he was foolish in not taking his friend home when he was already drunk and thus a risk to himself and other members of the public, instead Mr Damji was eager to get into a club. Secondly, if Mr Damji knew he had been handed an illicit drug, surely as a pharmacist he should have immediately destroyed it there and then and given his friend a good telling off (how much of a friend was he to put Mr Damji's career on the line). Finally, I don't think a "clubbing lifestyle" is compatible with a professional career, such as pharmacy. A warning for possession of cocaine may be sufficient for a banker but not a pharmacist. Ali Miah the GPhC is a new regulatory body, at this early stage it must rule with an iron fist inorder to set a bench mark, afterall we would like the outside world to regard us as professionals. Also Ali Miah regulation is not about slowing the forward progress of pharmacy (that is now the job of the RPS), rather regulation is there to assure quality and adherence to minimum standards- something Mr Damji overlooked.