Alberta pharmacists scramble to keep up as reports of prescription forgeries tick up again

Alberta pharmacies continue to be plagued by prescription forgeries, and some pharmacists say the problem is becoming increasingly difficult to address.

The Alberta College of Pharmacy recently told its members that forgery attempts are on the rise, and it urged pharmacists to notify police.

“There has been a continued trend of increased forgery attempts across the province in the first half of 2026,” the College’s website states.

Police in Calgary are also seeing a recent uptick in reports of attempted prescription fraud.

At Edgemont Family Pharmacy in Calgary, co-owner Wessam Sakr has seen his share of prescription forgeries.

“It has become a more frequent issue in community pharmacy now,” he said.

“Unfortunately, now it’s also getting more sophisticated. They are getting very good at making it look legitimate.”

Forgeries are often sent in by fax, he said. He also finds them on stolen prescription pads that are part of Alberta’s Tracked Prescription Program used for drugs that are prone to abuse.

And, according to Sakr, his team spends a lot of time dealing with suspicious prescriptions. That includes tracking down the person listed as the prescriber.

“When we find out that it’s forged … we keep documenting and reporting it. That takes time from the staff. Reporting it and communicating with law enforcement also takes time,” said Sakr.

“So, of course, it’s putting pressure on the pharmacy teams.”

According to the College, there were 188 forgeries reported to it in 2024, and 149 reported in 2025.

During just the first half of this year, there were 132.

Statistics previously shared by the College show prescription forgery reports have ebbed and flowed in recent years and were as high as 343 in 2019.

Forgeries becoming ‘sophisticated’

“We see them all the time,” said Mohamed Elfishawi, who owns Terwillegar and Terra Losa pharmacies in Edmonton.

“[They want] oxycodone, oxycontin, fentanyl derivatives — most of the narcotic and controlled drugs that they can sell on the streets.” 

Edmonton is particularly hard hit this year, according to the College.

“It looks like it’s organized crime, because it is so sophisticated. They use, sometimes, innocent people’s Alberta health care numbers. So we have to double check to make sure that we don’t harm any innocent people,” said Elfishawi.

“They’re very smart. Whenever we [figure out] their ways, they always change it and make it different.”

The Alberta College of Pharmacy declined CBC’s interview requests.

In an emailed statement, it said it is asking “pharmacy teams to report these attempts to local law enforcement as part of a collaborative effort to support investigations.”

Police urge pharmacists to report

Police in both Calgary and Edmonton are also urging pharmacists to report these incidents.

The Calgary Police Service (CPS) has received 35 reports of attempted prescription fraud so far this year — 25 per cent more than in all of last year.

In 18 of this year’s cases, prescription drugs were dispensed, according to CPS.

“We know prescription fraud happens far more frequently than is reported, however, and urge pharmacists to report every attempt, successful or not, to the police,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“Pharmacists can play a critical role in preventing fraud by confirming prescriptions are authentic and identifying suspicious behaviours.”

The Edmonton Police Service said it received 13 reports between January and April of this year. 

“Delayed reporting can make it more challenging for police to identify and respond to emerging trends in a timely manner,” a spokesperson said in an email.

Pharmacists are required to report any lost or stolen controlled substances to Health Canada.

The federal agency said between January and mid-June of this year it received 13 reports involving forgeries in Alberta, including seven from Calgary and three from Edmonton.

That’s nearly double the seven it received in all of 2025.

There were 22 reports in both 2023 and 2024; 18 in 2022; and 15 in 2021.

In addition to frequent alerts from the College, Sakr said pharmacists are sharing information amongst themselves informally, on Facebook and other platforms, when they spot forged prescriptions.

“This communication actually helps us a lot to identify it and protect the public and also protect the medication supply,” he said.