Chandigarh: Two weeks after the Punjab Chemists Association decided to stop selling psychotropic medicines across the state, patients dependent on these prescription drugs are facing considerable difficulties in accessing treatment.
The chemists’ association had taken the decision to protest alleged harassment by investigating agencies following the Jhotta murder case and restrictions imposed on the sale of certain medicines.
The move has added to the difficulties of patients suffering from diabetic neuropathy, chronic pain, anxiety and gastrointestinal disorders.
Mukesh Kumar, a patient suffering from diabetic neuropathy, shared his experience of struggling to obtain pregabalin, prescribed by his doctor.
“I visited several chemist shops with my prescription, but none had the medicine available. Eventually, I had to travel to a city in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh to get it. Ordinary patients should not have to suffer because of differences between the government and the chemists’ community,” he said.
Pregabalin is commonly prescribed to treat nerve pain, particularly nerve damage caused by diabetes. Other medicines affected by the restrictions include tramadol and tapentadol, used to manage severe pain; clonazepam, etizolam and alprazolam, prescribed for certain anxiety disorders and seizures; and dicyclomine, used to relieve abdominal cramps.
The Punjab Chemists Association maintains that these medicines are clinically important for patients and should not be indiscriminately labelled as narcotic drugs because of their potential for misuse.
