Page 12 - Drugs

Govt to root out drugs, will not allow smuggling of narcotics: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asserted that the Narendra Modi government will root out the menace of drugs from India and will not allow the smuggling of narcotics through the country. In a video message on the International Day Against Drug Abuse, Shah said the home ministry has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics and the results of this approach have started coming in. Shah said, "We have decided that we will not allow any kind of narcotics trade in India nor will we allow any drugs to be smuggled through India." He further said, "I fully believe that with coordinated efforts, we will be successful in rooting out the menace of drugs and achieve our goal of a drugs-free India. We will not rest until this fight against drugs is won." The war against drugs has been continuing, Shah said, and because of this coordinated action, narcotics worth Rs 22,000 crore were seized between 2014 and 2022. This is 30 times higher than the drugs worth Rs 768 crore that was

Myanmar burns seized drugs worth $446 mn amid rise in illicit trade

The authorities in Myanmar destroyed more than USD 446 million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the country to mark an annual international anti-drug trafficking day on Monday, police said. The drug burn came as U.N. experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin and methamphetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in South and Southeast Asia. Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world's second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers. In the country's largest city, Yangon, a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth USD 207 million was incinerated. The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine and crystal meth, also known as ice. The

Himachal contemplating forming task force to combat drug menace: CM Sukhu

The state government is contemplating the formation of a special task force to combat drug menace, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Sunday. Presiding over a ceremony at the Gaiety Theatre here to felicitate the winners of various events organised under 'Pradhaav - Wipe out drugs campaign,' he said that the government also plans to establish two state-of-the-art drug de-addiction-cum-rehabilitation centres. A piece of land spread over about 50 bighas is being identified to set up each centre, he said. Sukhu said that the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act must be made more stringent with a provision that allows authorities to confiscate property of convicted drug dealers. He said the matter has already been taken up with the central government. Sukhu also stressed the need to modernise the police department with the use of modern technologies like artificial intelligence to make it more efficient.

HC seeks Centre's stand on challenge to ban on fixed dose combination drugs

The Delhi High Court has sought the stand of the Centre on a petition by a pharmaceutical company challenging the government's decision to ban manufacture, sale and distribution for human use certain Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs. FDC drugs are those which contain a combination of two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in a fixed ratio. While issuing notice on three petitions by Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd against the ban, the court directed the FDC drugs produced by the petitioners that are already in the distribution channel shall not be withdrawn and no coercive steps will be taken against them. The petitioner was producing FDC drugs under the brand names Glencoff Q, Ascodex Dx Syrup, Ascoril-C Syrup and others, the court noted. The government had announced a ban on 14 FDC drugs on June 2 this year on the recommendations of an expert committee, saying there was "no therapeutic justification" for these medicines and they may involve "risk" to people. The cour

Zydus begins Phase-IV trial for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease drug

Saroglitazar Mg has been studied in two well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with NAFLD and NASH in India

Centre bans 14 more fixed dose combination drugs on expert recommendation

One of the key FDCs banned by the Centre includes a commonly used medication - Nimesulide and paracetamol combination - which is used to relieve pain and fever

No more drugs, rowdyism will be tolerated in Karnataka, says DK Shivakumar

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar instructed the police officials to maintain law and order in the state asserting to form a corruption-free government for the people."No more drugs and any kind of rowdyism will be tolerated in the state, the police department will be responsible for all this. We should give the corruption-free government to the people of the state," said Shivakumar on Tuesday.He further said that all the unauthorised clubs in the state will be closed, adding that the people are looking for a change."I have given warning to the police department, not to wear saffron on the uniform," said DK Shivakumar.Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah instructed the police officials to give priority to solving traffic problems in Bengaluru city and controlling cyber crimes."People have elected a new government with the expectation of change. Officials should work to respond to their problems," CM Siddaramaiah said.The Chief Minister said that he will hold a separate ...

Drugs seizure from Indian waters: Court asks NCB to file fresh affidavit

A local court here on Monday asked the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is probing the recent seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters in a joint operation with the Navy, to file a fresh affidavit including the details of the arrest of the accused among other things. The court was considering the petition of the NCB seeking the custody of Pakistan national accused Zubair Derakshshandeh for five days from today. Lawyer representing the accused, B A Aloor, said the court asked the agency to file whether the arrest was made from the Indian waters in order to decide on the jurisdiction of the court. The court will consider the matter again on Tuesday. In the remand report filed by the agency on May 16, it had said that a drug trafficker from Pakistan had offered the accused, "good money" after the work was completed. The agency had on May 15 said that the actual commercial value of the contraband after its latest evaluation was close to Rs

Violence-hit Manipur facing acute shortage of life-saving drugs: Report

The MCDA had earlier raised the issue with Manipur Health Minister Sapam Ranjan, but no concrete steps have been taken thus far

Greater Noida house turned into drug lab, 9 held with meth worth Rs 200 cr

A drug manufacturing laboratory allegedly set up by foreign nationals inside a residential house in Greater Noida has been busted, police said on Wednesday. Nine people of African origin have been arrested and 46 kg of methamphetamine estimated to be worth Rs 200 crore in the international market has been seized, Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh said. "The methamphetamine recovered is in the white, purest form. The nine foreigners were staying on rent in the house located in Sector Theta 2 of Greater Noida," Singh said. "Police have also seized raw material which could have been used to produce methamphetamine worth Rs 100 crore more," she told reporters. Those held have been identified as Anudum Emmanuel, Ajoku Ubaka, Daniel Azuh, Levi Uzochukw, Jacob Emefiele, Kofie, Chidi Ijiagwa (all eight from Nigeria) and Dramemond (from Senegal), the police said. The raw material seized from their possession included methyl alcohol, hypo phosphoric acid, hydrosulfuric acid

Over 15 kg drugs dropped in Punjab by Pakistan drones recovered by BSF

More than 15 kg of suspected narcotics was recovered by the Border Security Force (BSF) after it intercepted at least two drone sorties coming into India from Pakistan along the International Border in Punjab, a senior officer said on Wednesday. The first interdiction took place just after midnight in Ramkot village of Amritsar when the troops heard the sound of a drone and subsequent dropping of payload on the ground. Troops fired in the air to down the flying machine and simultaneously rushed to the spot where they saw three people trying to pick the consignment. The troops asked them to stop and fired at them but they managed to escape leaving behind five packets containing suspected heroin, a BSF spokesperson said. The second incident took place around 1:20 am in Kakkar village of the same district when a "rogue" drone from Pakistan violated Indian airspace. The personnel fired in the air to shoot down the drone and a search of the area led to the recovery of five packets ...

US lawmakers reach deal on drug policy, avoid automatic decriminalisation

Democratic and Republican leaders in the Washington Statehouse reached a tentative deal on a major new drug policy Monday, one that would avoid making the state the second to decriminalise the possession of controlled substances. Lawmakers will consider the compromise Tuesday when they return to Olympia for a special session. Gov. Jay Inslee called them back after they failed to pass a new drug policy before adjourning late last month. Under the deal, intentional possession or public use of small amounts of illegal drugs would be a gross misdemeanour, punishable by up to six months in jail for the first two offenses and up to a year after that. But police and prosecutors would be encouraged to divert cases for treatment or other services, and the measure provides millions of additional dollars for diversion programs and to provide short-term housing for people with substance use disorders. A temporary, 2-year-old law that makes intentional drug possession illegal is due to expire J

Drugs worth Rs 25,000 cr seized from Indian waters in joint operation: NCB

Two days after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had announced the seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters in a joint operation with the Navy, the anti-drug agency on Monday said the actual commercial value of the contraband after its latest evaluation was close to Rs 25,000 crore. NCB officials said because of the high purity of the seized methamphetamine, the value of the contraband has increased. Initially valued at Rs 12 000 crore, NCB had said that it was the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the country. "Upon our inspection, we found that the quality of the seized contraband is very high. Currently, the estimated street value of the drugs are at around Rs 25,000 crore," a senior official of the NCB told PTI. The official said various agencies have come together and they are probing the Pakistan links to the seizure. "The Pakistani national, who was detained will be produced before the court here this evening and we will seek hi

2,500 kg of drugs worth Rs 12,000 cr seized by NCB, Navy in Indian waters

In a massive drug bust, nearly 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine worth around Rs 12,000 crore was seized from a vessel in Indian waters along the Kerala coast in a joint operation by the Navy and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the anti-drug agency said on Saturday. The NCB said it was the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the country and a Pakistani national has been detained in connection with it. Giving details of the seizure at a press conference held here, NCB Deputy Director General (Ops) Sanjay Kumar Singh said it was carried out as part of 'Operation Samudragupt' which targeted maritime trafficking of drugs originating from Afghanistan. This is the third major seizure by NCB of maritime trafficking of drugs through the southern route in the last one and a half years, the agency said. As part of the operation, so far around 3,200 kg of methamphetamine, 500 kg of heroin and 529 kg of hashish has been seized, it said. The first seizure in the operation was made in ..

Pricing regulator sets mechanism to fix prices of off-patent drugs

Prices to be capped at 50% of innovator price; to be reviewed after one year

Reducing regulatory intervention in system a priority: DCGI Raghuvanshi

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi on Thursday said bringing down regulatory intervention in the system and making it more simpler is a top priority for the organisation. The DCGI is the apex authority in the country responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, intravenous fluids, vaccine and serum. It functions under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Ministry of Health. Delivering a lecture at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) here on the occasion of National Technology Day, he said there are currently many licences and interventions present in the system with a scope of making it much more simpler. "...our (DCGI) current priorities for a couple of years, the first being, (we) want to reduce the regulatory intervention in the system. There are lot of licences and interventions. There is a scope of making it much more simpler. That is one area, where

Drug sales stuck at pre-pandemic level, price rise shapes market growth

Respiratory medicines doing well as people recover from long-term effects of Covid-19

Covid-19 dropped to fourth leading cause of death in US last year

U.S. deaths fell last year, and COVID-19 dropped to the nation's No. 4 cause, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. COVID-19 deaths trailed those caused by heart disease, cancer and injuries such as drug overdoses, motor vehicle fatalities and shootings. In 2020 and 2021, only heart disease and cancer were ahead of the coronavirus. U.S. deaths usually rise year-to-year, in part because the nation's population has been growing. The pandemic accelerated that trend, making 2021 the deadliest in U.S. history, with more than 3.4 million deaths. But 2022 saw the first drop in deaths since 2009. The 2022 tally was about 3.3 million a 5 per cent decline from 2021 but still much higher than in the years before the pandemic. The CDC cautioned that last year's numbers are preliminary and may change a little after further analysis. Coronavirus-associated death rates fell for nearly all Americans. The virus was deemed the underlying cause of about 187,000 U.S. death

Pfizer beats profit estimates as new drugs offset Covid products slump

Pfizer expects 2023 to be a "transition year" for its Covid products, before potential returning to growth in 2024

As Singapore hangs man, these are the nations with the harshest drug laws

Singapore has executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery despite clemency petitions and protests. Here is a list of nations with the harshest drug laws