Alert ! Heroin addicts misusing Pregabalin capsules in Malwa Region- Dr. Jitender Aneja, AIIMS Bathinda
Dr. Jitender Aneja, Additional Professor, Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS Bathinda
According to the National Mental Health Survey of India (2015-2016), 22% of the people in our country suffer from substance use disorders. The Punjab State Household Survey (2018) revealed that 1 in 7 people use legal or illegal substances in a dependent manner.In the last few months, we are seeing such youths who are using drugs like heroin, but due to non-availability of heroin, they are misusing Pregabalin capsules in large quantities. For example, Kulveer Singh (name changed) has been abusing heroin for the past 5 years.Recently due to non-availability of heroin, he started abusing Pregabalin capsules which numbered 5-10 capsules a day. He says that it relieves the pain consequent to withdrawal of heroin, and it induces good sleeping. The person accompanying Kulveer Singh informed that Kulveer Singh’s younger brother died recently due to overdose of pregabalin and therefore he has been brought for treatment.
In general, pregabalin is used for the treatment of epileptic seizures, for neuropathic pains, stroke, etc. Drug addicts take pregabalin in doses 5-20 times higher than the dosage prescribed by the doctor. Pregabalin acts like a sleeping pill and in overdose can cause epileptic seizures or sudden death. As a result, pregabalin has been reclassified as a Schedule V drug in the US, a Class C controlled drug in the UK, and in other countries for its potential for abuse.The seriousness of the growing abuse of pregabalin in the Malwa region of Punjab can be gauged from the fact that there has been a large quantity of pregabalin seizures in various districts of Punjab and recently the district administration of Mansa has banned the sale of pregabalin without a doctor’s prescription is prohibited.But the ground situation is such that Pregabalin, which is usually sold as “Signature capsule” (the name of the manufacturing company and bears an insignia “signature”), other companies are also manufacturing red and white colored capsules with similar insignia but with an altogether different salt. For example, the capsules shown in the picture bear many similarities, but one contains pregabalin while other has fluoxtine (an antidepressant). This is not only harmful for the general- public, but it also appears that present regulatory procedures are insufficient to curtail this menace.
The author has recently written an editorial on this topic in the journal Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine titled “Pregabalin Abuse: A Source of Constraints in Western Punjab”, and through this article health workers have been cautioned against using pregabalin as a harmless alternative to various analgesics and psychotropics. The article also brings to attention of the policy makers to further strengthen the regulatory mechanisms and awaken the district authorities from deep slumber to prevent another epidemic of synthetic drug abuse in Western Punjab.
September 7,2022
