An Iowa veterinarian's pharmacy license has been suspended under an emergency order

(Iowa Capital Shipping) – The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has issued an emergency order suspending veterinarian Eric Smith’s pharmaceutical license for allegedly supplying dog breeders with non-prescription medications.

However, the Board of Veterinary Medicine has taken no public action in the matter and Smith continues to practice. Staff at Smith’s company, Farm & Family Veterinary Clinics, with offices in Brooklyn, Victor and Montezuma, indicated that Smith was with a client at a farm on Thursday and could not comment.

The Board of Pharmacy has charged Smith with distributing drugs for unlawful purposes, failing to comply with all requirements necessary for prescribing controlled substances, failing to maintain legally required records documenting the dispensing of controlled substances, and non-accountability. of controlled substances.

The board alleges that in January 2024, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship investigated the operations of an Iowa dog kennel — the board is not naming the kennel — that has some sort of undefined “relationship” with Smith.

According to the board, Smith provided controlled substances to the kennel without any documentation or exchange of receipts.

In April 2024, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy launched its own investigation into Smith’s three separate Controlled Substance Act registrations, which allowed him to dispense narcotics. The board claims its investigation shows Smith distributed controlled substances to dog kennels that do not have Controlled Substance Act registrations. The drugs were provided to the kennel operators, but were not intended for “specific animal patients,” the board claims.

In addition, Smith allegedly failed to document the dispensing of the drugs, and a board investigator concluded that controlled substances were missing from Smith’s inventory at his Montezuma veterinary clinic.

After determining that Smith “posed an imminent danger to the public health, safety and welfare,” the board indefinitely suspended his pharmacy license through an emergency order.

A hearing on the case is tentatively scheduled for November 4, 2024.

Over the past seven years, the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine has taken public disciplinary action against a total of four veterinarians. There are approximately 3,000 licensed veterinarians in Iowa, and another 600 veterinary technicians.