Prescription painkillers and anxiety reducing pills being sold by peddlers outside the building

AIIMS Nodal centre fails 'drug test'?

Prescription painkillers and anxiety reducing pills being sold by peddlers outside the building

A simple piece of paper or the lack of it can turn a life-saving medicine into an illegal drug. Prescription medicines such as Addonok, Valium-5, Lal Tima, Buta Proxy, Compos, Bendix, Larpos are not available in the open market and are found only at some specific stores.

NOT SO SWEET: This reporter procured these drugs from a dealer
outside the AIIMS nodal centre in Ghaziabad. The drugs are not meant
for sale as mentioned on the cover. Pic/mid day

But this reporter discovered that these medicines can be purchased from dealers loitering outside the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre in Ghaziabad, albeit at premium rates. This treatment centre is a branch of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). It was upgraded as the National Centre (National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre) and is fully operational from its new premises since April 2003.

The medicines mentioned above are prescribed to control alcoholism, tobacco and drug addiction. To procure these sedatives, this reporter posed as a drug addict and came in contact with peddlers, who sell the medicine in black without a doctor's prescription and in as much quantity as a person demands, provided he is prepared to pay the price.

The drug peddlers take the prospective client on a tour of the treatment center, and in the meantime try to identify whether the person is really an addict or just someone snooping around. The packets of medicine sold clearly bear the mark: AIIMS supply, not for sale. The drugs are sold at five times the maximum retail price.

"Drugs are of many kinds. Any ordinary medicine can also be called a drug. There are two kinds of medicines which people normally use more due to addiction or craving. These include painkillers and anxiety-reducing pills. Excessive usage of painkillers can lead to high blood pressure and volume retention in the body.

Normally volume retention should not be hazardous but for patients with heart disease, who have decreased cardiac function, it can prove fatal. For cardiac patients indiscriminate usage of painkillers can prove much more dangerous than in the case of a normal person. Also extensive intake of these medicines can lead to stomach ulcers. One should not take these drugs without a doctor's prescription especially knowing the side-effects," a senior doctor said.

"If a person keeps on taking these for months, it can turn addictive, and consequently life- threatening. For instance, a person I know tried to commit suicide because he couldn't get these medicines. Incidents like these do happen. There must be some ruling against this kind of illegal selling of medicines," he added.

"Excessive use of these drugs leads to addiction. The person starts using them compulsively despite the various negative effects. The addicted person becomes completely dependant on them."

When contacted, spokesperson of AIIMS, Dr Y K Gupta said, "It's a very serious matter. We had no information on this. I'll definitely pass on the details to our Deputy Director of Administration. Some action will be taken."
"We haven't got any complaints yet, but if this illegal business is going on right outside the treatment centre then we've to start investigating the matter straight away," said Hirdesh Kumar, District Magistrate, Ghaziabad.