Pharmacy owners on the Avalon peninsula, which includes St. John's, are wondering how to better protect their businesses, their narcotics and the general public after seven-break-and enters in six weeks.

The latest break-in occurred late Monday night when two suspects forced their way into the back door of the Family Wellness Pharmacy on Commonwealth Avenue in Mount Pearl. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said the pair left empty-handed because there weren't any drugs stored at the centre.

Don Rowe, registrar of the Newfoundland and Labrador Pharmacy Board, said the break-in is one of seven that have occurred in the region in the last six weeks. He said the drugs the thieves target — such as OxyContin, Ritalin and Dilaudid — are dangerous and need to be protected.

"It's a public safety issue. Obviously, it's narcotic drugs being diverted to the illicit market. Also, if this gets into the hands of the wrong people some of these drugs can be fatal, you know, narcotics can kill you if you take an overdose," he said.

Tom Kennedy's pharmacy in Bay Bulls was hit in early March after thieves cut a large hole in the staff room. They turned off the video cameras and cracked open a safe full of narcotics.

Kennedy said other pharmacy owners should bump up security systems, update safes and keep inventories of narcotics to a bare minimum.

"I think probably the most important thing was that none of my staff was hurt. Nobody was here at the time, but it also [leads] you to believe that, you know, if people are getting desperate, is the next step an armed robbery? And that's something I think everybody has in the back of their mind," he said.

Kennedy also said one solution to pharmacy robberies is to remove all narcotics and restrict them to hospitals or one central location where they're dispensed only when needed.