India seeks more liberal UN, WHO policies to treat drug abuse patients

India has urged the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to bring in more liberal policies such as a domestic protocol for telemedicine and controlled drugs to treat patients with drug abuse disorders . India told the 65th meeting of the United Nations Commission on Narcotics Drugs that the pandemic has left patients unable to visit hospitals, and many people have been forced to discontinue treatment, increasing the need for alternative arrangements. has been

“We have appealed to WHO and UNODC to come up with strong guidelines and scientific evidence to treat drug-dependent patients in India and the world. We urged international authorities to bring policy reforms on access to controlled drugs like methadone and buprenorphine,” said Dr Atul Ambekar, Psychiatrist, National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, who represented India on behalf of the Ministry of Health.

Methadone and buprenorphine are used to treat opioid dependence, including heroin and narcotic pain relievers.

“At present, patients must visit hospitals every day and prescribe anti-drug drugs in front of a doctor. But during the pandemic, it became difficult for patients to visit the hospital every day due to COVID restrictions and hence, we recommend taking these medicines at home. We did not find any abuse and he started taking medicines at home itself. As a result his health condition improved,” Ambekar said.

According to a 2019 report on Substance Abuse in India by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, 7.2 million of the approximately 31 million cannabis users were problem users. Of the 24 million users of opioids, 7.7 million were problem users, and of the 7.7 million individuals who used inhalers, 2.2 million were problem users.

AIIMS is conducting scientific evidence-based studies in five states on how patients were responding to anti-addiction drugs for home consumption. “Preliminary results of the study are showing good results in the health of the patients. Based on the report, we have recommended to the United Nations and WHO some relaxation in prescribing anti-addiction drugs with a take-home policy,” Ambekar said.

India has also appealed to the international authorities to formulate effective guidelines for telemedicine to help drug-dependent patients.

“During the pandemic, the government encouraged doctors to consult patients on telemedicine. But there are no such guidelines for over telemedicine treatment of such patients. Currently, we cannot prescribe some controlled drugs on virtual mode. Considering the present scenario, doctors should be given the liberty to prescribe such drugs on telemedicine.”

At the annual meeting held on 14–18 March in Vienna, Austria, members discussed international drug policy commitments and steps to improve the availability and access of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes.