Prescription drugs sold over the counter

A bottle of Phensydryl has the effect of a few pegs of alcohol, with no hangover the next day. Fortwin can give you a high and a dose of Calmpose the previous night will leave you as fresh and active the next day. These are some of the attractions that draw young people to consume habit-forming drugs on a regular basis.

These are scheduled drugs and should be sold only on prescription but chemists, by and large, are lax in adhering to it.

Thus, drugs like Calmpose, Phensydryl, Fortwin (tranquiliser), Altrax and Corex are easily available over the counter, without a prescription across the City.

According to the Karnataka Drug Control Department, chemist shops in and around Fraser Town, Cox Town, Lingarajapuram, Hennur Road, Ulsoor, Seshadripuram, areas around Ramaiah Hospital are found selling these drugs sans a prescription.

Many of the chemists say they don't insist on a doctor's prescription so as to attract customers and build their loyalty. Several chemists dispense these drugs for higher prices. “Customers are willing to pay more to get their daily dose and chemists take advantage of it. If a strip of Calmpose costs Rs 20, it is sold for Rs 30 or sometimes even Rs 40.

The rates differ according to the strength of the medicine,” disclosed a chemist on Wheeler Road, who is active in the ‘business’ of selling drugs without a prescription. The officials with the Karnataka Drug Control Department claim that they regularly crack down on the drug stores in the City. Dr B R Jagashetty, Karnataka Drug Controller, claims, “If we find offenders, we suspend their licences and launch prosecution. It is our priority to clamp down on those selling these habit-forming drugs illegally over the counter.”

In the same breath he claims that "the sale of habit-forming drugs without a prescription has been controlled.” He says the department is short-staffed and he would launch a fresh drive as soon as the new officers are recruited.

There are approximately 300 chemists shops in the City. And most of them are into the business of selling habit-forming drugs without a prescription. “If we do get to hear of such cases, we will initiate action against the offender and stop the supply of drugs to them. But this is a rampant problem. The issue of licences must first be regulated and then we step in,” says a senior official of the Karnataka Chemists and Drugs Association.

People, who were addicted to habit-forming drugs for years and have now managed to give it up, say they went through a nightmarish experience. Jerome Marshal Schofield had to go through several deaddiction centres before he finally settled down for treatment at a centre. He was addicted to Anxit for almost 22 years which he began taking as a teenager.

“I took it once and felt very calm and soon I turned to Anxit whenever I was depressed. I got to a point where I couldn’t stay without it. I needed help for every little thing and lost my self-confidence but I am normal today,” says Jerome, who’s in a regular job.

Shubha Chacko, a social worker, who has worked among youngsters addicted to these habit-forming drugs says, “A lot of people continue to use the drugs prescribed by the doctor even after they’re cured. They use it whenever the same illness recurs without consulting the doctor. People must be educated on the rational use of drugs.”