NCB may bring Tramadol under NDPS Act

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 28

Tramadol, an opioid analgesic or pain killer, is extensively being misused by drug addicts. With the mounting evidence about its abuse by the drug addicts, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has mooted to bring this allopathic medicine under the ambit of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Dr Kaustubh Sharma, Zonal Director, NCB, has written to the higher authorities in Delhi regarding this and the issue is likely to be taken up at the Narcotics Coordination Committee (NACORD) meeting to form a firm view on this. The meeting is held once a month.

“During the meeting, the authorities would see the entire seizure in a holistic manner and would decide whether it warrants bringing Tramadol under the NDPS Act or not,” said Sharma while talking to The Tribune.

At present, the illegal sale of Tramadol is dealt with under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act and it’s the drug wing of the Health Department that confiscates and investigates such seizures. However, health authorities cannot arrest the suspects and the matter is handed over to the court for any punitive measures and thus the investigations linger on.

Since the imposition of the model code of conduct in view of the Assembly elections in Punjab and other parts of the country, the NCB has seized Tramadol tablets worth over Rs 10 lakh and Tramadol injections worth over Rs 84,000. Besides Tramadol, Alprazolam is also being largely misused, NCB officials said. The NCB confiscated the drug worth over Rs 74, 000 during the past over one month.

Alarmed over the seizure of such a huge quantity, the NCB authorities believed that it requires concerted efforts from all quarters in order to eradicate the menace. Various agencies including the Police Department had expressed their serious concern over the misuse of synthetic drugs by drug addicts and this is no secret nowadays.

The NCB along with the Drug Department conducted a number of raids and checked the stock of drug stores in Amritsar since the imposition of the model code. “We are left baffled by the extent of its illegal sale,” said Sachin Guleria, Superintendent of Police, NCB, here.