Farm & Family Veterinary Clinic in Brooklyn, Iowa. (Photo via Google Earth)
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has issued an emergency order suspending the pharmaceutical license of veterinarian Eric Smith for allegedly providing dog breeders with unprescribed drugs.
The Board of Veterinary Medicine, however, has taken no public action in the matter and Smith continues to practice. The staff at Smith’s business, Farm & Family Veterinary Clinics, which has locations in Brooklyn, Victor and Montezuma, indicated Smith was with a client on a farm Thursday and was unable to comment.
The Board of Pharmacy has charged Smith with the distribution of drugs for unlawful purposes, failure to meet all of the requirements necessary for a controlled-substance prescription, failure to maintain the legally required records documenting the dispensing of controlled substances, and failure to maintain accountability of controlled substances.
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The board alleges that in January 2024, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship was investigating operations at an Iowa dog kennel – the board doesn’t name the kennel – that has some sort of undefined “relationship” with Smith.
According to the board, Smith was providing controlled substances to the kennel without any documentation or exchange of receipts.
In April 2024, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy initiated its own investigation into Smith’s three separate Controlled Substance Act registrations, which enable him to dispense narcotic drugs. The board alleges that its investigation shows Smith has been dispensing controlled substances to dog kennels that have no Controlled Substance Act registrations. The drugs were provided to the kennel operators but were not intended for “specific animal patients,” the board alleges.
In addition, Smith allegedly failed to document the dispensation of the drugs, and a board investigator concluded controlled substances were missing from Smith’s inventory at his Montezuma veterinary clinic.
After finding that Smith posed “an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare,” the board suspended his pharmacy license for an indefinite period through an emergency order.
A hearing on the matter has been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 4, 2024.
In the past seven years, the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine has taken public disciplinary action against a total of four veterinarians. There are roughly 3,000 licensed veterinarians in Iowa, and another 600 veterinary technicians.
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