Centre urged to curb online sale of highly addictive drugs: TN Drug Control Directorate

chennai: the tamil nadu drug control directorate has raised alarm over the growing misuse of five highly addictive painkillers, urging the central government to intervene and regulate their online sale.according to m.n. sridhar, state drug licensing and control officer, painkillers such as tapentadol, tramadol, pentazocine, nitrazepam, and codeine—all classified under schedule h and h1—are being widely accessed online without medical supervision.“these drugs, though meant for specific therapeutic use, are increasingly being abused due to their easy availability over the internet,” sridhar said. he noted that consignments of these drugs are being routed into tamil nadu from states like gujarat, bihar, and maharashtra.sridhar pointed out that while rules prohibit the online sale of medicines without prescriptions and supervision by licensed pharmacists, enforcement remains lax. “the state lacks jurisdiction to regulate online platforms. hence, we have been consistently urging the union health ministry and the central drugs standard control organization (cdsco) to step in,” he said.he warned that the failure of central authorities to act could force states to consider implementing their own restrictions to curb misuse. “unregulated online sales of these substances pose a serious threat to public health and social safety,” he added.so far, no concrete action has been taken by the centre on this pressing issue, he said.