Pharmacy independence

Glenn Reynolds posted about some chatter over at The Corner about abortion and the morning after pill. Here's what Glenn said.

Kathryn Jean Lopez decries a poll showing that 80% of Americans think that pharmacists ought to have to fill prescriptions for contraceptives even if they're personally opposed to birth control. Of course, this only matters because pharmacists enjoy a government-created monopoly on the dispensing of prescription drugs. Just take that away, and the problem disappears, too. In the meantime, like others who enjoy government monopolies, they are forced to make some concessions to public convenience. That doesn't strike me as an overwhelming imposition, but if the pharmacy profession feels otherwise, I'll be the first to support a move to eliminate its privileged position.

I have a couple of questions? Would you consider pharmacists an industry or a profession? Do Pharmacies, from the corner store to Safeway or hospital pharmacies, all get together and decide what they can and can't offer and set the prices of those drugs?
I always thought that a Pharmacist was a profession, with certain certification or licensing that requires that they follow certain ethical standards. But don't those pharmacists work for multiple private entities that operate independently? You can get some drugs cheaper if you go down to Fred Meyer than if you get it at the hospital, so why can't that apply to choosing what drugs you do offer?
I don't get Glenn's "government-created monopoly" statement.