Government order to stop prescription drug abuse puts patients in trouble

Kozhikode: An order regulating the sales of certain drugs, including drugs for abortion and painkillers, from the office of the Drug Controller, has led to these drugs being taken off the shelves by medical stores.

Genuine patients are now finding it difficult to get these drugs as medical stores refuse to stock them to avoid the cumbersome procedures listed out in the order.

As per the order issued by the State Drug Controller following increase in their abuse, medicines like Mifepristone, Codeine, Dextropropoxyphene, Nitrazepam, Sildenafil and Tadalafil have to be sold under strict regulation.

The order has asked medical storeowners to take a copy of the prescription from the consumer and to file it in the store. It also directed medical storeowners to take down the name and full address of the consumer who had purchased any of these medicines.

In addition, the order also directed medical storeowners to display a copy of this order in medical stores to educate the public.

“We no longer stock these medicines as we do not get time to follow all the procedures laid down in the order. When there are customers, we cannot run to get a Photostat copy of the prescription and will not have time to take down the name, address and phone numbers of the customers. The easier way is not to stock these medicines,” a medical store owner from Nadakkavu told Deccan Chronicle.

However, he was quick to add that genuine patients were finding it difficult to get them. “Most of the medical stores have stopped stocking these medicines. So the patients will have to approach their doctors and get their medicines changed. It is true that all these drugs have been widely abused,” another medical store owner said.