Edmonton pharmacist found guilty by tribunal of misusing drugs, leading to overdoses
Posted May 6, 2026 12:27 pm.
An Edmonton pharmacist who allegedly suffered two opioid overdoses in 2024 after being found to have misused controlled drugs has been suspended.
Azhar Qureshi was suspended for 12 months – until March 31, 2027 – due to unprofessional conduct, following a hearing tribunal by the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP).
That suspension could be extended an extra six months “if an additional complaint related to the potential misuse of drugs is received.”
Qureshi’s practice will remain suspended until he provides the ACP with a physician’s report that he is fit to return to practice, and upon completion of an ethics course.
The ACP says there was “incontrovertible evidence” that Qureshi suffered opioid overdoses on Jan. 10, 2024, and July 15, 2024, following the misuse of drugs.
In the July incident, Qureshi suggested his overdose may have been caused by a pharmaceutical representative “spiking” his coffee. The hearing tribunal found that explanation “highly improbable and unsupported by any evidence.”
The hearing tribunal specified there were no allegations of patient harm in either instance.
The tribunal did not find the misused drugs were diverted from the pharmacies owned by Qureshi.
“Pharmacists are granted extraordinary authority within Alberta’s healthcare system, including the ability to access, manage, and dispense substances that pose serious risks of harm if improperly used,” the tribunal wrote in its Dec. 16, 2025, decision on the merits. “This authority comes with a corresponding expectation that pharmacists will adhere to the ethical and legal frameworks governing controlled substances.
“When a pharmacist uses such drugs for personal purposes or outside the bounds of professional judgement, they act in direct contravention of those expectations.”
