Disobedient pharmacies to face problems

Georgia’s Minister of Health Davit Sergeenko has stated there are several pharmacies in Georgia which still sell psychotropic medicines without prescriptions.

The Minister stressed that pharmacies which violate the law in this regard must face penalties.

“We have revealed several pharmacies involved in the illegal selling of medicines, psychotropic medicines, and those which are prohibited from sale without prescription,” Sergeenko said.

The Minister added that his body would soon draft a document that would include definite regulations for those who break the law.

“The regulations will be discussed during the next Governmental meeting,” Sergeenko said.

The Ministry of Health under Sergeenko has already introduced tough rules for pharmacies and presented a long list of medicines which must not be sold without prescriptions.

The major aim of the step was combating so-called pharmaceutical drug-addiction, when young people buy various medicines to use as narcotics.

Several days ago, a post of a parent having a son with certain disabilities was widely shared on Facebook.

The user named a pharmacy where he went to buy a definite psychotropic medicine for his son and saw a long queue of youngsters buying the same medicine without providing any prescription.

The user also mentioned that some time before the medicine was much cheaper and the price has been almost doubled recently. He expressed his view that some influential people could be backing the violation.

Drug addiction is a very serious problem which influences the future of individuals, their families and their country.

Fighting against drug addiction requires a complex approach.

The Ministry’s response was allegedly because of the post, which triggered a stir on the social network.

It is, of course, a good thing that the public is so concerned about such serious issues and the social networks are appropriately used in this regard.

The Ministry’s response was also prompt and deserves praise. However, the Ministry should have tasked permanent staff with monitoring the situation, at least until major threats regarding possible violations were removed.