Punjab’s Congress govt is weeding out drugs menace: Minister

The Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab is committed to weeding out drugs menace from the state and strict action is being taken against the violators, Punjab’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said on Saturday.

The Minister’s statement came after the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)

seized over 12 lakh tablets of Tramadol, a habit-forming drug, worth approximately Rs. 85 lakhs under the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

He said that the state government has restricted the sale of eight types of drugs in the state, that is, drugs formulations containing the narcotics drugs namely diphenoxylate, dextropropoxyphene, codeine and their salts, psychotropic substances buprenorphine, pentazocine, nitrazepam and their salts and tramadol and tapentadol in solid oral dosage forms.

Sidhu revealed that a team consisting of Amritsar Drugs Control Officer and Zonal Licensing Authority (Drugs) visited M/s Ravenbhel Pharmaceuticals in Baba Buddha Ji Avenue for routine inspections and found that the firm was stocking high quantity of Tramadol. It did not have the permission for the same.

In a bid to keep tab on the illegal sale and purchase of habit forming drugs, the FDA conducts regular checking of wholesale and retail sale drugs licensees.

He said that notice under Rule 66(1) of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 has been issued for taking action against the firm and the further investigation is under process.

Underlining the action taken against the wholesale and retail sale drugs licensees those were violating the restrictions laid by the state government, the Minister said that 701 numbers of licenses have been suspended out of which 600 licenses suspended due to general contravention and 101 licences suspended for the contravention regarding habit forming drugs.

He said that two licenses had also been cancelled from January to November this year. Similarly, 87 numbers of prosecution orders had been issued against defaulters and 102 prosecutions launched by the FDA, Punjab.