Pvt centres selling de-addiction drugs at inflated rates on black market in Punjab: Vigilance Bureau to Punjab Govt

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has warned the state government that many private drug de-addiction centres in the state have turned into “lucrative private enterprise or syndicate just to enrich themselves”.

The bureau, in a letter to state Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, has expressed apprehension that the owners of these private drug de-addiction centres are selling drugs meant to wean away addicts from narcotics, in the open market, at highly inflated rates.

For long, there have been hushed voices of concern, over some private drug de-addiction centres taking the highly subsidised buprenorphine and naloxone salt, registering fake addicts to show the distribution of these tablets at the rate of Rs 40 a tablet, but actually selling it in “black” at as high as Rs 300 a tablet to addicts. In 2019, a “confidential report” prepared by the Punjab Food and Drug Administration highlighted how these tablets had emerged as the new addiction in Punjab.

‘Break monopoly, run centres in PPP mode’

* The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has submitted to the government a list of persons who are running multiple drug de-addiction centres and those who have set up their own pharmaceutical units

* Of the total 177 private drug de-addiction centres in the state, 117 are owned by only 10 companies or entities. It has been suggested to limit the grant of licences to a person or a family to break monopoly and run these centres in a public-private-partnership mode

The bureau, while investigating a case registered against some of the private drug de-addiction centres on December 31, 2024, for selling buprenorphine tablets in the open market, has said multiple drug de-addiction centres were run by a single entity. “…they have turned them into a lucrative private enterprise or syndicate just to enrich themselves. Owners of many such centres have established their own drug factories as well, and they are supplying the medicine to their own and other drug de-addiction centres... the tablets are sold on black-market as well…”.

A list of persons who are running multiple centres and those who have set up their own pharmaceutical units to manufacture buprenorphine tablets has been sent to the government through the Chief Secretary. Of the total 177 private drug de-addiction centres in the state, 117 are owned by just 10 companies or entities.

“These centres defeat the real purpose behind the grant of licences,” reads the letter by Vigilance Bureau’s Chief Director, Varinder Kumar, who has suggested that the state government look into the conditions to run a drug de-addiction centre to avoid any kind of manipulation for vested interests.

It has also been suggested that a transparent and fair policy be formulated for the grant of licences right from the floating of tenders to plug all possible loopholes; conditions be made more stringent for operation of these centres, including mandatory availability of well-trained doctors, para-medical as well as other staff; ensuring proper treatment or rehabilitation of patients instead of just acting as medicine dispensing centres; formation of high-level committee(s) to verify records pertaining to dispensation of medicines or pilferage thereof at each drug de-addiction centre; limiting grant of licence to one or two to a person or family to break monopoly; and making the attendance and ID of the patient biometric, amongst others.

The bureau has also recommended that it would be better to run these de-addiction centres in a public-private-partnership mode.