New law shuts down Denmark’s 24-hour pharmacies

Health minister underlines that citizens will still be able to have their medicine delivered outside of normal working hours

Due to a new law, from 2017 it will no longer be possible to pop down to the 24-hour pharmacy for a prescription after normal business hours.

The pharmacy law means that the pharmacies will lose their grants from 2017 and 11 pharmacies in Denmark’s major cities open 24 hours will no longer be open at night.

“We don’t think that this is very fortunate,” Vagn Jelsøe, the deputy head of the consumer council Forbrugerrådet Tænk, told Politiken newspaper.

“The pharmacy duty service must work and consumers aren’t served well with a deterioration.”

READ MORE: Debate on prescription drugs: call for cheaper medication

Emergency clinics 
The number of national duty pharmacies, which can deliver medicine from 06:00-24:00 – including at weekends – will be reduced from 50 to 34. The grant for these pharmacies is also being removed.

The health minister Sophie Løhde has underlined that citizens will be able to have their medicine delivered outside of normal working hours, despite the law.

In future, citizens will still be able to get their prescriptions filled from emergency clinics if they have been in contact with a doctor on duty.

The new pharmacy law was approved by a majority in Parliament and will be implemented over the course of the next 18 months.




  • Greenland, Danish life science, and the future of US-Danish relations

    Greenland, Danish life science, and the future of US-Danish relations

    The US is the biggest market for the Danish life science industry, the country’s currently most important. Despite the situation, Denmark is not alone. There is also room for compromise, and promises of such jobs and additional investments are likely to at least reduce the tensions in US-Danish trade relations.

  • The internationals who created an app to make friends in Denmark  

    The internationals who created an app to make friends in Denmark  

    A team of young internationals has created an app that is helping their peers connect and build friendships in Denmark, addressing the challenges of social integration.

  • New documentary stirs debate in Denmark and Greenland 

    New documentary stirs debate in Denmark and Greenland 

    The documentary Greenland’s White Gold, reveals the worth of cryolite mining in Greenland to be in the billions. Over the years its value has been undermined, despite it acting like a gold mine for the Danish state. 

  • Today is 10 years from Copenhagen terrorist attack

    Today is 10 years from Copenhagen terrorist attack

    On February 14 and 15, the last terrorist attack took place in Denmark. Another episode occurred in 2022, but in that case, there was no political motive behind it

  • Enter Christiania: how the Freetown works

    Enter Christiania: how the Freetown works

    We all know Christiania and have been there at least once. But how does the Freetown work? How are decisions made? Can a person move there? Is there rent or bills to pay? British journalist Dave Wood wrote a reportage on Christiania for The Copenhagen Post.

  • The struggles of Asian women in Denmark’s labour market

    The struggles of Asian women in Denmark’s labour market

    Isha Thapa unfolds her research “An Analysis on the Inclusivity and Integration of South Asian Women in High-Skilled Jobs within the Danish Labor Market”. Thapa describes the systemic and social challenges these women face, ranging from barriers in social capital to cultural integration.