OTC Codeine Ban in Canadian City

[Powder_Reality]

SWIM recently cut his gums open behind his back teeth. He did so by biting down on a pointy piece of a french fry on that area. The next day his cut was aching. It was a dull ache like when he had his wisdom teeth pulled out.

SWIM decided that he should go get some Aspirin and Codeine for the pain and the headache that he was experiencing from it. Codeine and Aspirin products are OTC in Canada, and SWIM has purchased it before. But upon requesting the product at a nearby phamracy, he was informed that the store had a policy in place that required a prescription for OTC codeine products. SWIM found this puzzling, as he thought that OTC stood for "Over The Counter", not "Prescription Required for Purchase".

SWIM drove to another pharmacy and was told the same thing. Inquiring about it, SWIM was informed that his city had put a ban on selling OTC codeine products without a prescription. SWIM lives in a city where prescription drug abuse is very rampant, and even items such as mouthwash are kept behind pharmacy counters. It is because of this that the ban was put into place. So now all those who have a genuine need for the product are shit out of luck.

SWIM has a few questions about this incident. First of all, if a product is OTC in Canada, do individual cities/stores have the right to control the sale of these items? Secondly, is there anything that SWIM can do/say that would require the stores to sell him the products (bringing up certain laws, etc.).

SWIM doesn't even need the pills anymore, but he felt outraged when he was refused the sale of a legal item because of his city's reputation. It's the small incidents like these that make SWIM feel like his rights are being ripped away from him more and more everyday.

SWIM never thought he would have to stand up for his right to purchase LEGAL OTC products.

[sarge1064]

It is unlawful to make sales of OTC meds a by-prescription sale without the municipality first getting permission from the Federal Government in Ottawa. They have the bureaucratic machinery in place to decide what's a scrip sale only and what is not.

[hamsterdam]

Well, in the US individual states can restrict certain drugs tighter (for example, new york makes benzos (CIV federally) CII in the state.. which means no refills). Dunno about canadian laws, but I wouldn't be surprised if the local governments could tighten restrictions on certain drugs.

[SkipRipper]

When are people gonna decide they're not gonna take this shit from the government anymore.

[sarge1064]

I agree, but that's Canada for you. Some of the States in the USA have made such decisions in the past, notably Idaho regarding a complete ban on methadone. That state (I live here) decided that they didn't want Methadone, or clinics prescribing it here. Well, enter some bright soul and one ADA lawsuit, and it was a done deal. The first clinic opened here this past June. It was decided by the US Supreme Ct that no State had the right to ban access to a lawfully controlled substance with therapeutic value, especially if it helped to control an addiction to unlawful substances. That kind of regs fly against Americans with Disabilities. Canada, if pushed, would go even farther, because they regard their OTC regs on codeine as "enlightened" as compared to us in the US. And since that is a cultural issue for them, watch for their High Court to go the distance, I believe. In any event, I still don't think that the town/city in question had the lawful right in Canada to ban outright or make an OTC substance "by prescription" only, in light of Canada's strong Food and Drug Laws. Someone is gonna have to show me chapter and verse of Canadian Law or the Constitution of Canada where the Federal Govt cedes that authority to the cities or the Provinces.