Punjab Chemists Stop Selling Pregabalin After State Crackdown and Murder Arrest
The Punjab Chemists Association announced a state-wide halt on the sale of habit-forming prescription drugs including Pregabalin, following intense regulatory raids and the October 13 alleged murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa by chemist Ashwani Kumar. The directive impacts approximately 27,000 wholesale and retail member chemists across Punjab who were instructed to return their existing stocks of psychotropic medications to distributors and wholesalers by the end of October.
Association Alleges Harassment and Unfair Penalties During Raids
Representatives of the Punjab Chemists Association stated that routine inspections have unfairly targeted legitimate medical stores over minor paperwork errors. “For mismatches as small as four tablets to one strip, the genuine chemists are at the receiving end of the crackdown, staring at getting their medical stores sealed,” said G. S. Chawla, general secretary of the Punjab Chemists Association.
“We decided to stop selling Pregabalin and other such drugs in a meeting on Wednesday and are waiting to see how things move,” Chawla added, further stating, “We are hopeful that the stocks will be returned by chemists across the state,” and noting that the move aimed at the “safety” of the member chemists.
Sudarshan Chaudhary, vice-president of the association, maintained that licensed pharmacists already follow exhaustive administrative procedures to log psychotropic medications. Despite compliance, Chaudhary stated that authorities were improperly branding compliant medical store operators as illicit drug peddlers.
The state Food and Drug Administration intensified inspections across multiple districts following growing concern over substance misuse. In Patiala alone, the drugs control department inspected 16 medical establishments between October 16 and 19, uncovering Drugs and Cosmetics Rules violations at 11 of those locations and seizing both records and inventory.
Health Minister Defends Zero-Tolerance Policy on Drug Misuse
Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh declared that the misuse of essential, life-saving medicines for drug abuse will not be tolerated, as the state government steps up monitoring and enforcement under its zero-tolerance policy. The statewide enforcement efforts aim to curb the illegal trade of substances like Pregabalin outside authorized medical channels.
While registered pharmacies are legally permitted to dispense these medications when presented with a valid physical prescription, the chemical association contends that minor billing and record discrepancies have triggered disproportionate penalties. To mitigate public health impacts, association leaders urged the state government to supply required medications directly through government-run facilities, civil hospitals, and Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
Patient Access Concerns and Next Operational Steps
The abrupt discontinuation of these medications at retail pharmacies introduces significant supply disruptions for patients managing chronic conditions such as anxiety, post-operative pain, and muscle tension. Industry representatives noted that while the inventory return process aims to protect association members from punitive store closures, alternative distribution channels remain vital to ensure uninterrupted care for vulnerable patients.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Gupta, Zonal Licensing Authority, stated that the chemists’ association had not formally communicated its sales halt to his office, adding that regulatory violations would continue to be evaluated strictly under applicable statutory provisions.
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