The Department of Drug Administration recently confiscated from the market 38 types of drugs that were unregistered and have been banned for sale in the country.

Among them, Tram (Tramadole), Metamine and Ketamine, mostly used as pain relievers, were seized in huge quantities. These drugs are only allowed to be sold with a prescription from qualified doctors.

The drug administration, which is also the national regulator of the drug market, said the permission to sell these drugs has only been given to hospital pharmacies. These pharmacies can only dispense these drugs to patients who furnish a doctor’s prescription.

“But such drugs are found in almost all pharmacies and are being sold without prescription,” Santosh KC, a senior drug administrator, told the Post. “What is worrisome is that the use of these drugs is high among college students.”

A study carried out by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Central Bureau of Statistics some six years ago showed 91,534 drug users in the country. A similar study carried out 12 years ago had placed the figure at 46,309.

“The latest study shows 11.36 percent annual growth of drug users in the country,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Chakra Raj Joshee of the Narcotics Control Bureau of Nepal Police told the Post.

Among the drug users, 1.4 percent are under the age of 15.

In Nepal currently, 20 percent of drug users are between 15 and 19 years of age, 33.20 percent between 20 and 24 years, and 22.40 percent between 25 and 29 years.

Similarly, 13.7 percent drug users are found to be between 30 and 34 years; 5.70 percent between 35 and 39 years, and 3.70 percent above 40 years of age.

“Around 1.4 percent of children under 15 years of age, which means school-going children, are also using drugs,” said Joshee.

The habit of using pain-reliever without the need for it is often seen as a gateway to addiction and use of hard drugs.

“Those who started taking pain-relieving drugs now find themselves in rehab centers fighting substance abuse,” said Joshee.

The bureau has confiscated such drugs in huge quantities in recent months from different parts of the country and has even arrested some pharmacy operators. Such pharmacy operators were then handed over to the Department of Drug Administration.

“We do not know what the drug administration does with the pharmacy operators,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Krishna Gopal Paneru, who also works in the Narcotics Control Bureau, told the Post. “We arrest those who are found selling narcotic drugs without prescription, and hand them over to the Department of Drug Administration.”

The drug office suspends the licence of such pharmacies for a few days but does not impose permanent restrictions on them to run their businesses.

The department said that the absence of human resource to monitor pharmacies that operate in porous border areas was the main reason behind banned drugs making their way into the Nepali market.

According to officials, there are some pharmacies which operate only for a few hours—in the morning and evening—to avoid raids from the department. The office carries out raids usually during office hours from 10am to 4pm.

Such pharmacies, even though they operate for limited hours, generate good income since they run on a huge profit margin by selling banned drugs, said KC.