Addressing an addiction to a drug or a substance is a hard task for many. Some might scramble to find replacement to the substance they are addicted to. The shortage of ganja in and around Hyderabad gave rise to the anticipation that regular users of the contraband might opt for habit-forming drugs sold at medical shops.
Pharmacists, wholesalers of the medicines in Telangana were instructed to keep the drugs in a cupboard which is locked, or in a place reserved solely for them. Further, its sale will be closely monitored. Officials in the Telangana Drugs Control Administration said that the State police have held series of meetings with them.
The DCA officials have issued a circular to the medical retailers, wholesalers, on October 25 in which it was stated that the habit-forming drugs come under the Scheduled drugs category, which have to be sold based on prescription. The circular states that sale and purchase of habit-forming drugs come under Schedule-H, H1, X and Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) are as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940.
The retailers were directed to maintain records of sale of habit-forming drugs against prescription issued by ‘Registered Medical Practitioners’. Purchase and sale invoices of habit-forming drugs have to be maintained too.
Drug Inspectors said that sale of the scheduled drugs is being monitored closely from the past many years. “A few of the habit-forming drugs sold at medical shops have sedative, hypnotic effect. The scope of their sale indiscriminately is less in the State,” said a drug inspector.
Chemists and druggists said that they too have been stringent about sale of habit-forming drugs.“We sell the scheduled drugs only based on prescription from Registered Medical Practitioner. Anyone can verify this. In fact, some people lodged complaints against us stating that we sold less number of the scheduled medicines against the quantity mentioned in the prescriptions,” said a chemist.
