From Cough Syrups To Pain Relief Ointments - Delhi Too Gets High On Affordable Medicinal Drugs

The absence of marijuana or hashish doesn't prove that an individual is not addicted to drugs. Rather a closer look reveals a plethora of substances that are being abused by the people. Many a substance that clearly mention that they are for 'external use only' are freely being used for getting high these days.

Pain relief ointments, cough syrups or even regular antiseptic creams are in much demand for the same purpose.

While people are getting more aware of the abuse done by conventional drugs like heroin and cocaine, the use of medicinal drugs by youngsters is still seen as rare and at times it's seen as socially acceptable.

Most addicts who don't do conventional drugs like cocaine and heroin initially start with sniffing ink whiteners, cobbler's glue and shoe polish before resorting to pain relief ointment sandwiches, and cough syrups.

Those who can spend more go for the prescription opioid pharmaceuticals, such as buprenorphine, pentazocine and propoxyphene, which are illegally sold by chemists at five to ten times the right price, depending on the available supply and desperation of the customer.

Delhi too loves getting high and that too at an affordable price.

The syrup is well known, but did you know about creams?

¡°The codeine-based cough syrups - are well-known substances abused as drugs by youngsters and that too at a large scale along with well-known ointments which are used for strain relief etc. But not many people know that the addicts use beauty and antiseptic creams to do drugs and the number of such people is not minuscule,¡± said Lalit, who pharmacist on a medical store in Pashchim Vihar, Delhi.

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Pain relievers are also being misused for a period of two decades now. They got quite popular among the people of Haryana when in late 1990, the state government had banned liquor in the state.

Affordable plus less risky

Though there is no fixed price for the illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin or hash, and it can get sold by smugglers at their whims and fancies, it's anyway costlier than the medicinal drugs which have a price since it's a medicine.

For example, every 10 gm of hash would cost one around Rs 700 to 1000 while 100 ml of Corex syrup is around Rs 93 which also has the no risk factor as keeping it doesn't invite persecution. Similarly, 10 gm of marijuana or ganja costs around Rs 400 or 500, but Phensydril and Benedryl syrups don't cost more than Rs 100.

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If one is addicted to drugs in tablets form, even then plenty of options available in the market. However, these tablets need to be prescribed by doctors as overconsumption of these drugs is fatal.

For example, an anti-anxiety tablet packet of 10 tablets of 0.5 mg each comes around Rs 25 whereas the tablet Ecstacy, the famous drug comes around Rs 1000 a tablet which is a lot. It mainly slows down the brain functioning.

Punjab just got notorious, but it exists everywhere

Whenever we speak about drugs problem, we only talk about Punjab. But this menace isn't only limited to Punjab and it has spread across India. While the addicts doing conventional drugs can be identified, traced and contained, the people who do medicinal drugs are completely untraceable and Delhi has an increasing number of these addicts.

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¡°Chita is another cheap drug, but it's mostly consumed in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Since the smuggling of drugs remains under police's scanner, the addicts in Delhi do medical drugs which are almost impossible to trace. We too despite knowing that it might get misused, can't stop selling these products,¡± said another pharmacist on the condition of anonymity.

The absence of prescription helps to curb it, but not all abide by it

Most of the drugs misused as substance abuse by addicts require the prescription from a doctor and most of the pharmacists abide by this rule. Yet there are many who overlook the necessity of the prescription.

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¡°Drugs like Alprax and many others can't be given without prescription and most of the pharmacists follow this rule since this drug can cause death if taken in exorbitant ratio. Even a cough syrup requires a prescription and that's where the pharmacists get lenient to earn money. Cough syrups shouldn't be given without the prescription, but people, even pharmacists think that coughing is a general ailment and anybody can take it without prescription,¡± said Yogesh, a pharmacist in outer Delhi.

Misused substances like Iodex, Boroline etc don't need any prescription and people buy it for daily use and it's quite difficult to separate the genuine buyers from the addicts.

Pharmacists can guess who's buying what for which purpose

¡°The addicts can be identified by their behaviour. Lack of conviction is asking for medicine is enough for us to judge that he will misuse the drug. For example, Iodex is something that people should be buying once in six months. But if someone buys it twice a month, then one can easily fathom for what purpose, the strain reliever is being used. However, the addicts to know it and that's why they don't buy it from one shop regularly,¡± Lalit said.

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The medicine abuse is hard to contain since it can't be checked whether the person has the genuine problem or he's faking it. Police too can't help curbing it, therefore, the medicinal drugs abuse is bigger a threat to the youth than the conventional drugs and since the products are legit, their smuggling can't be checked or controlled unless done on a larger scale.