Haryana cracks down chemists selling habit-forming drugs illegaly to youths

The north Indian state of Haryana has boosted its effort to tackle the growing incidence of misuse of habit forming drugs among youth sold by certain errant chemists across the state.

The health department of Haryana has decided to add 35 new drug inspectors to speed up the crack down on the chemists and drug stores indulged in storage and sale of addictive drugs, said Punjab health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla .

The authorities have seized drugs worth of Rs 9.73 crore from the state, so far.

The chemists, however, have denied selling such drugs through their outlets.

The chemists said that a few chemists were involved in the brisk business of selling the habit-forming drugs, while the whole community have bear the brunt.

The government was only targeting chemists and not manufacturers, Surinder Duggal, general secretary, alleged.

However, this time the chemists were not able to get the sympathy of the government or their old mantra of shrugging of their responsibilities to the manufacturers did not work as most of the demands of the chemists were refused by the state drug controller.

The state controller Bhagh Singh replied that as the people could not approach manufacturers, they got products from chemists.

If the chemists were able to produce the purchase bill not even a single bottle or medicine would be seized, he said.

Even though it has always been denied by chemists that they are indulging in their sale but few are still doing it, the health minister said.

There was no doubt in that the youths were taking drugs, which was the reason that in so many recruitment rallies maximum candidates from the state were found unfit, the health minister said.

The health department would continue work despite the assaults on its members, she said.