FDA Haryana I
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Last Updated on June 23, 2026 by The Health Master
Prescription to Addiction
Prescription to Addiction in India: A significant proportion of drug-related arrests are not for trafficking but for personal consumption.
“Addiction is the only prison where the prisoner walks in willingly.”
Let me begin with one powerful fact: In India, a significant proportion of drug-related arrests are not for trafficking but for personal consumption.
This means the problem is not just crime; it is an addiction born within society itself.
This means the problem is not just crime; it is addiction born within society itself.
And sadly many a time, it starts with a prescription When we hear the word “drug addiction,” many of us imagine illegal substances sold secretly on streets.
But, many a time, it begins in the safest-looking place possible: a doctor’s prescription.
“According to enforcement and national crime data, a large proportion of NDPS cases in India involve personal consumption rather than large-scale trafficking.
India has an estimated 1.18 crore people using sedatives non-medically
The Illusion of Safety: From Relief to Dependence
When we hear the word “drug addiction,” many of us imagine illegal substances sold secretly on the streets.
But, quite often, it begins in the safest-looking place possible: a doctor’s prescription.
Imagine a patient; it could be you, me, our loved ones, or anyone visiting a clinic with pain, anxiety, a cough, or inevitable life stress.
A medicine is prescribed for relief.
Initially, it helps.
The patient feels better.
But gradually, dependence develops.
The body starts demanding the same medicine repeatedly.
One strip becomes two.
One dose becomes three.
Before the patient realizes it, treatment transforms into addiction.
This is not merely a medical issue; it is a profound legal, regulatory, and social challenge.
Crossing the Thin Line: The Reality of Prescription Abuse
According to enforcement and national crime data, a large proportion of NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) cases in India involve personal consumption rather than large-scale trafficking.
Alarmingly, India has an estimated 1.18 crore people using sedatives non-medically.
Misuse of prescription drugs has become a growing concern.
Painkillers, cough syrups containing codeine, sedatives, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs, and certain habit-forming medicines are increasingly being abused, especially among the youth.
What is most disturbing is that many individuals simply crossed the thin line between necessary medical use and misuse.
Medicines are powerful substances.
A drug that heals in the correct hands can destroy lives in uncontrolled hands.
For example, seemingly harmless sedatives or anti-anxiety medicines like alprazolam, certain opioids, and codeine-containing preparations can create deep psychological and physical dependence if dispensed indiscriminately.
Striking a Legal Balance: Enforcement vs. Regulation
Because of these risks, the law places immense responsibility on every stakeholder: the doctor who prescribes, the pharmacist who dispenses, and the regulator who monitors.
This is exactly where drug regulatory authorities, such as the Drug Wing of Food and Drugs Administration Haryana (FDA Haryana), step in.
To understand how this works, we have to look at the dual layers of protection in our legal system:
- The NDPS Act: The purpose of the NDPS Act is to control and regulate the manufacture, sale, purchase, and transport of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Here, the narcotics department works alongside the Police, Excise department, ED, and Customs to apprehend the illegal trade of substances like opium, ganja, and heroin, as well as synthetic substances like Fentanyl, methadone, codeine, and Tramadol.
- The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940: While narcotics officials focus on catching illegal traffickers, the Drug Department steps in to take regulation one step closer to everyday life right to the doors of licensed manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.
The Blueprint of Accountability: Schedules of the Drug Rules
Under the Drugs Rules, medicines are tightly classified to ensure that documentation creates accountability, and accountability prevents abuse:
| Drug Classification | Scale of Regulation | Potential Risks & Examples |
| Schedule H (552 Drugs) | Can only be sold on the prescription of a Registered Medical Practitioner. | Contains a few NDPS drugs that require standard medical oversight. |
| Schedule H1 (50 Drugs) | Requires stricter record maintenance, including preserving prescription details and sale records. | Contains 10 high-risk NDPS drugs prone to quick habit-formation. |
| Schedule X (14 Drugs) | Most tightly regulated due to extremely high abuse potential. Cannot legally be sold without a valid, recorded prescription. | Includes specialized substances such as Ketamine. |
The law recognizes that unrestricted access to these classifications directly leads to dependency, abuse, and illegal circulation.
Casual Compliance: The Danger of Everyday Self-Medication
Today, self-medication is contributing heavily to this crisis, bringing the problem directly into our homes, schools, and colleges.
People consume sleeping pills for stress, painkillers for emotional exhaustion, and cough syrups for a temporary escape.
Medicines are increasingly being used not just to treat disease but to cope with daily life pressures.
- A lawyer carrying a strip of pills to the courtroom.
- A student carrying a harmless-looking painkiller to an examination hall.
- An overburdened housewife keeping a sedative in her purse.
It sounds innocent, harmless, and familiar. But right there lies the seed of the most dangerous addiction.
Ground Reality: FDA Haryana’s Crackdown on Dual-Use Drugs
The golden rule of prevention is simple: “Easy availability creates easy dependence.”
To check this easy availability, drug law enforcement officers are actively restricting sales or partially cancelling licenses for 15 different types of highly sensitive “dual-use” drugs liable to be misused including Alprazolam, Buprenorphine, Codeine, Tramadol, and Pregabalin.
The Impact of Direct Action
Acting on intelligence reports that individuals are now crushing and injecting prescription medicines like Tramadol, Tapentadol, and Pregabalin as substitutes for narcotic drugs, a practice that leads directly to severe organ damage and death special inspection drives were launched under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
During one major enforcement operation in the Sirsa district, authorities inspected 67 medical stores and sealed 16 shops in a single day for serious violations.
This operation, conducted under the guidance of our Ex-State Drugs Controller Lalit Goyal, involved teams of drug control officers inspecting sites and collecting multiple drug samples for forensic investigation.
Over the past four years, FDA Haryana has taken disciplinary action on about 80 cases related to the illegal use of dual-use drugs, which are either currently under trial in court or have resulted in administrative license cancellations and suspensions.
This is completely separate from the numerous joint NDPS raids conducted alongside the police force.
Most notably, in 2025 alone, narcotics control efforts assisted by FDA Haryana recovered over 6.5 lakh dosage forms including capsules, injections, tablets, and cough preparations, that were diverted away from legitimate medical channels and into abuse networks.
A Collective Path Toward Healing
Behind every statistic on drug abuse hides a real face, a real family, and a real story of pain.
While enforcement operations are vital to shutting down supply lines, awareness is equally important.
True prevention must begin with institutional and personal responsibility: responsibility in prescribing, responsibility in dispensing, and responsibility in enforcing the law.
Let us work together to ensure that medicines remain instruments of healing and never become pathways to addiction.
To read more articles from the author, click the links below:
Objectionable Advertisements: Salient features of DMROA Act, 1954: Part-I
Objectionable Advertisements: Salient features of DMROA Act, 1954: Part-II
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