Tramadol abuse: 21 shops to face sanctions in Ashanti
The Ashanti Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has referred 21 chemical shops [over the counter] to the Pharmacy Council for sanctions after they were found to have stocked high dosage of Tramadol tablets and were dispensing it to the public in violation of the FDA law.
The chemical shops [over the counter] are not permitted by law to sell Tramadol while Pharmacies that are authorised are to dispense strictly on a doctor’s prescription.
Advertisement
The FDA has registered only the 50mg and 100mg of the Tramadol tablets but during a market surveillance, it was found out that as high as 120mg and 225mg were on the shelves of some of the chemical shops.
The Ashanti Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority, Mrs Nora Narkie Terlarbie, made this known at a press briefing on Thursday.
She explained about 5,000 very high dosage of Tramadol tablets have since been seized from the said chemical shops, many of which are located near Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Ashanti Region.
Reports have suggested the youth have been abusing the drug which is easily obtained from over the counter shops.
The FDA after meting out initial punitive measures to the shops, has referred them to the Pharmacy Council for investigations and possible prosecution as part of measures to halt the increasing abuse of the Tramadol drug by the youth especially those in senior high schools.
