Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at a meeting with Home Minister G. Parameshwara and top police and health officials on drug menace in the State, in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
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The Drugs Control Department of Karnataka will likely start monitoring the supply and sale of many painkillers that are reportedly being misused as drugs by addicts in the State, through an online portal they launched to track Remdesivir during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This follows the State police flagging several painkillers and other medicines being consumed by addicts and chemists selling them over the counter without any prescription.

Misused painkillers

Umesh S., Drugs Controller, Karnataka, said the portal in which both wholesalers and retailers have to enter their stocks and sales, presently tracks only Tapentadol tablets. According to the Centre for Addiction Medicine, NIMHANS, Tapentadol tablets are the most misused painkillers among drug addicts.

The Karnataka police have flagged at least nine more tablets, all mostly painkillers being misused, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the drug menace in the State on Wednesday. Home Minister G. Parameshwara said action against narcotics had been effective over the last year-and-a-half, disrupting supply chains and pushing addicts to painkillers.

“Instructions were given to strictly ban the sale of drugs without doctor’s prescriptions in medical shops. It was suggested that the licences of those involved in such activities should be cancelled. The Drugs Control Department has been directed to keep continuous watch over medical shops and conduct inspections from time to time,” Mr. Siddaramaiah told media persons after the meeting.

“We are mulling over tracking the stocks of more painkillers flagged by the police,” Dr. Umesh said. “This is a matter of constant vigilance. Earlier, addicts were habituated to other painkillers. We regulated that and now the tablet in vogue is Tapentadol. As we regulate more tablets, addicts will find new tablets,” he said and added that the department cancelled the licence of 12 chemists in Bengaluru, Ballari, and Hubballi, among other cities, last month.

However, Ravindra Kumar M.J., Secretary, Karnataka Chemists and Distributors Association, said that even a common tablet taken for allergies could be misused to get a high and overregulation of the sale of these painkillers could be counter-productive. “The stocks can be easily tracked from wholesalers and those retailers who are buying abnormally large quantities have to be questioned. If retailers are expected to enter their stocks and sales of so many medicines, the tendency is to stop stocking such medicines. Patients in genuine need will likely suffer,” he said and added that chemists should desist from selling drugs over the counter without a prescription.

Tapentadol addiction rampant in Bengaluru: NIMHANS

The Chamarajpet police in Bengaluru are on the lookout for a drug peddler who has been selling Tapentadol tablets through school dropouts and minors for ₹100 a pill. The recent Kannada film Bheema, which portrays drug menace in the city’s slums and is still running in theatres, depicts Tapentadol addiction. The film’s lead actor and director Duniya Vijay had appealed to the Police Department during the film’s promotions to check the menace.

“Misuse of Tapentadol tablets is rampant and on the rise in Bengaluru. Our studies show that this has been on the rise in many cities of South India. We see 40-50 cases of Tapentadol addiction at our OPDs now. Even in 2020, it was around five to six cases a month,” said Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha, assistant professor, Centre for Addiction Medicine, NIMHANS. “Most of those who come with this complaint are youths under 30. Hepatitis C viral infection is also common among these addicts as they share syringes. This tablet is extremely habit-forming and usually, it is very late by the time patients come to us for treatment. We appeal to everyone to seek treatment for both addiction and Hepatitis C viral infection earlier,” he said.