Telangana DCA issues show-cause notices to 166 medical shops for illegal sale of habit-forming drugs

The Telangana Drugs Control Administration (DCA) conducted a Statewide special enforcement drive on Saturday, February 21, to curb the illegal sale of habit-forming drugs, during which discrepancies were detected in 166 medical shops. Show-cause notices have been issued to all the erring outlets, with the department indicating that action including suspension or cancellation of licences will follow as per law.

The raids were carried out across retail medical shops in the State with a focus on identifying the indiscriminate sale of habit-forming medicines, particularly those classified under Schedule H1 and Schedule X of the Drugs Rules. The drive specifically targeted drugs such as codeine-containing cough syrups and tablets including Nitrazepam, Alprazolam, Tramadol, Zolpidem, Tapentadol and other commonly misused prescription medicines, as per a release.

They further added that the inspections revealed multiple violations, including the sale of prescription drugs without valid prescriptions from registered medical practitioners, failure to issue bills, non-maintenance of sales and purchase records, absence of mandatory Schedule H1 registers, dispensing medicines without the presence of a registered pharmacist, and irregularities in maintaining copies of bills. These lapses were found to be in clear violation of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the rules framed under it.

The department stated that show-cause notices have been issued to all 166 medical shops found violating the norms and that stringent departmental action, including licence suspension or cancellation, would be initiated in accordance with statutory provisions.