Health Canada orders Kelowna man to stop selling ivermectin

Ivermectin guy told to close

Photo: Contributed

A Kelowna-based webstore selling ivermectin online has been ordered to close.

A Kelowna man openly selling ivermectin online has been ordered to stop by Health Canada.

Michael Lindstrom started blanketing the city with flyers offering the drug last month, offering local pickup or shipping under the brand "imhere2help" and "Ivermectin Guy."

Ivermectin was developed 40 years ago as an anti-parasitic for use in both animals and humans. Some have held up the drug as a treatment for COVID-19, but repeated studies have been unable to prove its effectiveness.

In an email to customers Saturday, Lindstrom said he was ordered on Oct. 12 to stop advertising and selling ivermectin and close his webstore.

He says the closure order is due to the “politically charged nature of this product.” Human-grade ivermectin is a prescription drug and is illegal for non-pharmacists to dispense. Lindstrom is not a pharmacist.

“I’m writing this email to assure you that I will continue to do what is right and unashamedly remain open for business to any and all who are in need. Going forward, I will without hesitation or second thought humbly serve the wonderful people of this incredible community I call home,” Lindstrom’s message to customers said.

He claims he has “hundreds” of “very happy and grateful customers that otherwise would have no access to this medicine.” Lindstrom has said he is selling ivermectin "specifically to save lives for anyone suffering from Covid."

After Lindstrom’s store became publicized, Interior Health issued a notice that ivermectin has not been cleared for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

“Health Canada is advising Canadians not to use either the veterinary or human drug versions of Ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. There is no evidence that Ivermectin in either formulation is safe or effective when used for those purposes,” Interior Health said.

Veterinary ivermectin—typically horse paste—can be purchased at feed shops, which led to an increase in poisoning calls related to ivermectin in summer 2021 as it became a darling of the vaccine-skeptic community. Animal variations of the drug have much higher concentrations.

Lindstrom claims to be selling human-grade ivermectin, but will not disclose his source.

He says Health Canada’s compliance and enforcement branch has given him until Oct. 24 to shut down his operations, so while he has promised to push ahead, he says he does not what the status of his operations will be after that deadline

"I simply don't know what the future holds," he said.

Health Canada says buying prescription drugs of any kind online is dangerous.

“This is especially true if you order prescription drugs without being examined in person by a health care practitioner,” Health Canada said.

“A simple internet search will turn up hundreds of websites that sell drugs. Some internet pharmacies are legitimate, but many offer products and services that are dangerous. Some sell drugs that are not approved for use in Canada because of safety concerns. Some take advantage of people desperate for relief by offering ‘miracle cures’ for serious illnesses like cancer,” the agency continued.

“What they do not tell you is that it is dangerous to take a prescription drug without being examined in person and monitored by a health care practitioner to make sure the drug is helping you.”