Temisan Olaifa
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Oyo State Command, on Thursday said patent medicine dealers are not authorised to sell or prescribe antibiotics and some other selected drugs.
The Commandant, Oyo State NDLEA, Lawal Adetula, said this during a sensitisation session with the National Association of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Dealers (NAPPMED) in Igboora, Oyo State, on Thursday.
The theme of the sensitisation was: “Consequences of Dispensing Drugs in Error to the Public.”
Adetula, represented by the NDLEA Deputy Commander of Narcotics (DCN), Toyin Ajanaku, listed other drugs not authorised for patent medicine dealers to dispense, including diabetic, blood thinners, strong painkillers, cardio-vascular, and psychotic drugs.
The commandant warned patent medicine dealers in the state against selling or prescribing all six listed categories of drugs, saying they are controlled drugs that only licensed big pharmacies were authorised to dispense.
He said: “I want to use this opportunity to warn you against selling marijuana, cocaine, and some illicit drugs, which are harmful to the body and negatively affect society.
“The NDLEA has the power to arrest and prosecute anyone caught selling or prescribing these drugs, and we will not hesitate to do so.”
He described patent medicine dealers as very important in society, but warned them not to categorise themselves as doctor.
“You don’t have the right or training to sell or prescribe controlled drugs,” he said.
In her lecture, the NDLEA Chief Superintendent of Narcotics, Mercy Godwin, called on patent medicine dealers to be careful in selling and dispensing drugs in order not to tarnish their reputation.
Godwin said that a wrong prescription may worsen a patient’s existing health condition or even lead to loss of life, which could put them in trouble.
She said that the NDLEA had the right to monitor shops of patent medicine dealers to check for any prohibited drugs that are harmful for consumption and would continue to do so, to sanitise the society.
The NAPPMED Chairman, Ibarapa zone, Mr. Segun Adeniyi, commended the NDLEA for the sensitisation and promised that members would adhere to the rules and regulations governing drug sales and prescriptions.
