CPhA responds to Attorney General Brown's characterization of pharmacists as ''drug dealers''

SACRAMENTO, Calif. In a press release issued Tuesday, the California Pharmacists Association took exception to an inflammatory reference made by Attorney General Jerry Brown that likened behind-the-bench pharmacists to street corner drug dealers, calling for the Attorney General’s office to issue a retraction.

“It is highly inappropriate for the Attorney General to make such a comparison when pharmacists are on the front lines of health care, protecting patients every day,” stated Lynn Rolston, CPhA CEO.  “Pharmacists have been found to have one of the highest levels of public trust. The Attorney General's attempt to the discredit the profession by publicly disparaging pharmacists is insulting and without merit.”

Brown made the remark March 13, during a press conference regarding arrests made in the investigation of Anna Nicole Smith’s death. “Somebody died here,” Brown said, referring to Smith's 2007 death of an overdose at the age of 39. “People think those drug dealers on the street corner are the only threat. People in white smocks in pharmacies and with their medical degrees are a growing threat.”

According to a press release issued by the Attorney General’s office last Friday, “the appropriate prescribing and dispensing practices of licensed doctors and pharmacies is under investigation.”

“CPhA is fully supportive of the AG’s goal of tackling illegal prescribing and abuse by patients through the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System,” Rolston said.