Chemists across Ludhiana have started returning stocks of pregabalin and other habit-forming, narcotic and psychotropic medicines, commonly prescribed for anxiety, post-operative pain and muscle tension, in protest against what they term excessive enforcement and inspections by the authorities.
The process began last Wednesday, with most chemists either returning their stocks to distributors or exhausting available inventory. They have announced that sales of these medicines would remain suspended till the government addresses their concerns over surprise inspections and punitive action for even small discrepancies in stock records.
GS Chalwa, general secretary of the Punjab Chemists Association, said the government could make their own arrangement by making these drugs available at the Civil Hospital or Civil Surgeon’s office but they won’t be selling them at their shops.
Chemists alleged that the entire fraternity was being penalised for violations committed by a few. “If some people are involved in selling these medicines without prescriptions, why is action being taken against everyone, even for minor discrepancies in records? We are being targeted unnecessarily,” said Mukesh, a city chemist.
The move has left many patients struggling to obtain prescribed medicines.
Meanwhile, patients are facing a difficult situation. “My mother got operated recently and was experiencing pain. I went from one chemist to another but was unable to find the medicine,” said Maninder, a resident of Civil Lines.
Another patient, who regularly takes medicines for anxiety, was caught in a difficult situation when she was unable to get the medicine.
“I buy medicine from a nearby chemist after showing the doctor’s slip but today I went to many shops but none had the medicine and finally I went to the hospital to get the same,” said Prabhnoor, a resident.
Registered chemists are legally permitted to dispense them if a person has a valid physical prescription. The chemists, however, claimed they were being targeted unnecessarily.