A former pharmacist who was found guilty of selling and supplying drugs such as morphine and cannabis to clients has had his registration cancelled by the Health Practitioner's Disciplinary Tribunal.
Samer Moustafa Dabous, was sentenced to 10 months home detention at Auckland District Court in 2014, after pleading guilty to having drugs in his possession for the purpose of sale and supply.
Following his appearance in court, the tribunal held a hearing into Dabous' offendings in February 2015.
In its written judgement, the tribunal said Dabous began living at a home in Auckland in July 2011.
After two or three months, the landlords noticed a "toxic chemical smell" coming from the building that hurt their eyes and throats and gave them a headache, the tribunal said.
The smell continued for some time, and eventually one of the landlords entered Dabous' unit, and saw empty pill bottles, prescription medicine in blister packs, pill form and liquid form and cannabis related items.
His landlords reported what they had seen to police, and while searching his flat, police found a number of prescription-only medications, including morphine, ritalin and diazepam, and triazolam, as well as cannabis plant material.
Dabous admitted to police that he had an addiction to cannabis, and smoked it on a daily basis.
He also admitted to stealing the morphine when it was returned by patients to the various pharmacies he worked at over an extended period of time.
Dabous denied selling drugs to anyone, but when police eventually obtained a warrant to search Dabous' phone, text messages proved he was dealing medication and cannabis to several people.
Dabous elected to not give evidence before the tribunal, but in an unsworn statement he acknowledged the fact his convictions called into question his fitness to practice.
He said he was "guilty" and realised his actions were "inappropriate", and apologised to the public and the profession.
Dabous admitted to supplying to others, but told the tribunal he was not in business as a supplier, as he only provided medication to friends and acquaintances.
He said as a result of his actions he had "lost everything" and was determined never to return to drug use.
Dabous said he hoped to gain closure through the process so he could enter a new phase of rebuilding his life, which involved coaching young football players at a local club.
However, the tribunal said it could not impose a "lesser penalty than deregistration".
"One important reason for this conclusion is the need to send a strong message to both the public and the profession that such conduct will not be tolerated.
Damous' registration was cancelled, and he was ordered to pay $7206 in costs.