

In the works—a tougher drug law to check opioid abuse
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In a bid to stem the alarming opioid crisis, India's apex drug regulator plans an overhaul of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to sharply raise punishments and fines that would deter illegal diversion of habit-forming pharmaceutical opioids, according to two government officials in the know and documents reviewed by Mint.
The move could materially tighten oversight across India's $50 billion pharmaceuticals market, even as industry stakeholders urge caution on the plan. The proposal by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) involves increasing the imprisonment duration by three-and-a-half times to seven years, and financial penalty by up to 28 times under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to align it with the stricter Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act is limited in scope and is often inadequately enforced. Violations under this carry a punishment of two years of imprisonment, a fine of ₹20,000, and the offence is often bailable, said the people cited above.
The new plan seeks to implement a minimum of seven years in prison and a fine of at least ₹5 lakh and make these offences cognizable and non-bailable. With around 2.5 million "dependent users" of pharmaceutical opioids in the country, as per a 2019 government report published by ministry of social justice, the development assumes significance for India’s pharma market.
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