Smartcard to prevent abuse of prescriptions for narcotic pills

If introduced, the prescribed narcotic medicines and their quantity will be recorded in the smartcard which will allow the patient to buy the prescribed pills only twice from a clinic.

This was revealed by Lt-Colonel Ali Hassan Al Hamoudi, Director of the Anti-Narcotics Department of the Fujairah Police, recently.

Lt-Col Al Hamoudi said wide circulation of narcotic pills is a serious issue in Fujairah and some other emirates and combined efforts by families, local communities and the anti-narcotics departments in the country are required to address this.

The pills in circulation include Tramadol, Camadrin and Artin, which are supposed to be dispensed only against medical prescriptions, he said and cited the Cabinet decision which banned their use without a doctor’s prescription.

“A study is being discussed by all anti-narcotics departments in the country to create a smartcard to stamp out the menace,” he said, noting that some patients who visit psychiatric and other medical clinics and get prescriptions for narcotics pills visit the same or similar clinics to get these medicines again and again. Some of them abuse the pills themselves and some others sell them to other addicts.

The smartcard, when approved, will allow the patient to use it only twice and will show when and where he had bought the medicine. Thus, he would not be able to use it a third time or in other clinics to buy the pills, he said.

As many as 15 drug-related cases were recorded over the last six months in Fujairah and 22 suspects were arrested and sent for trial, Lt-Col Al Hamoudi said.

The drugs seized include heroin, hashish and narcotic pills.

The department, according to him, filed 26 drug-related cases arrested 29 people in 2009 and seized over 93kg of drugs — 88kg of hashish, 9.4 grams of opium and 5kg of heroin, besides 151 narcotic pills.

Last year, the department recorded 11 cases of drug abuse, six cases of possession and abuse of drugs, two cases of drugs trafficking and seven cases of smuggling and possession of narcotic drugs, he said.

The department is implementing the strategy of the Ministry of Interior and the directives of Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, in combating drugs and organised and disorganised crimes, he added.— news@khaleejtimes.com