Do without work in the pharmacy (8)

I believe the answer is:

dispense

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'do without' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.

(Other definitions for dispense that I've seen before include "Prepare and distribute medicine" , "Portion out as chemist does" , "Hand out (medicine)" , "Execute" , "Supply (as chemist)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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