‘Medicines be sold only at the prescription of doctors’

Morung Express News
Dimapur | March 22 

In pursuance of a directive from the Nagaland State Drug Control Organisation of the department of Health & Family Welfare, to check unregulated sale of live-saving drugs, the Dimapur zone Drug Controller assisted by the Commissioner of Excise and the district administration started a joint verification exercise of medicine outlets in Dimapur on Thursday, March 22. 

Whole-sale dealers will come under the scanner of the joint verification team in the first phase of the exercise followed by retailers. According to the Nagaland Medicine Dealers Association, Dimapur has 50 enterprises dealing in the bulk sale of live-saving drugs and around 200 over-the-counter sellers or retail pharmacies. 

Commissioner of Excise, Maong Aier briefing media persons after the first day’s exercise informed that three whole-sale outlets were scrutinized today, namely – Medico, Bharat and JP Enterprise. The sales and stocks records of the aforementioned enterprises were checked and verified, Aier said while adding that the drive will continue till all the units falling under Dimapur are verified. 

The basic objective of the exercise is to regulate the unabated over-the-counter sale of controlled drugs such as amphetamines and diazepam, which are psychotropic in nature, as well as stimulants like relipen and spasmo-proxyvon; and the very ‘popular’ ephedrine (one of the basic contents of cough syrups). 

Sale of these kinds of drugs, though not illegal, is controlled by the government to prevent abuse because of its addictive quality. And to check that the stock and sell of drugs do not exceed the limit prescribed by the government. With regards ephedrine, there is a standing stricture from the government limiting its sale in the market. 

According to this stricture, a ceiling has been stipulated which states that no medicine outlet can sell more than 25 vials of ephedrine based medicinal syrups in a day.

Aier said that a huge shipment of medicines meant for JP Enterprise, one of the whole-sale units checked today, was recently impounded at Guwahati by the Central Board of Customs and Excise. The cargo had exceeded the permissible limit. Without disclosing the quantity seized, he queried how such huge quantities of medicines could be bought and disposed off in a small state like Nagaland so easily.  

The drug trend (or rather abuse) here in Nagaland at present is dominated by restricted drugs like spasmo proxyvon and relipen, Aier said of his observation. This can be attributed to its easy availability at low costs and more concerning is that it is being sold in neighbouring Lahorijan and Bokajan rather rampantly, Aier added. In this regard, the inspection team also decided to meet up with their counterparts in Assam. 

“Drugs should be sold only at the prescription of doctors” Aier said while adding that the NMDA has also given their support that retailers must follow suit in principle.  Quoting the Narcotics Control Board of India, Aier said that psychotropic drugs are shipped out of India by smugglers which are then used to manufacture banned drugs like cocaine, heroin, brown sugar etc. “We should be more careful with the ‘tablets’.”