Yemen Observer: http://www.yobserver.com
Posted in:
Reports
Written By: Faisal Darem
Article Date: Oct 6, 2009 - 2:47:25 PM
Is Qat among psychotropic substances or drugs?
Dr. Taher al-Makaleh
|
Medical sources talked about the dangerous circulations of psychotropic substances by pharmacies that lead to widespread use of these substances among young addicts, who take them with Qat. Common pharmaceutical drugs are Diazepam and Restyle. Medics are calling the users “addicted to pills.” These sources also confirmed that Yemeni law defines them as drugs.
The Supreme Board of Medicines and Medical Appliances (SBMMA) supervises on the process of importation and circulation of drugs and psychotropic substances, in accordance with international regulations, said Dr. Taher al-Makaleh, the Director of Narcotic Drugs Dept at the SBMMA in Ministry of Public Health.
Al-Makaleh explained how the SBMMA regulated importing these substances which are used as medical sedatives and hypnotics for making the patient calm, saying that, “We prepared national lists that are identical with international lists, either in terms of drugs in accordance with the UN Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 or psychotropic substances in accordance with the UN Psychotropic Substances Convention 1971 successively.”
The SBMMA informs the International Narcotic Control Board with required quantities of these substances annually, in which every side, either the exporter or the importer, commits oneself to these quantities to control illicit trading.
The problem of distributing psychotropic substances and drugs is the possibility of them being stolen, al-Makaleh clarified. Jiblah Hospital imported a large quantity of psychotropic substances, and some leaked out of the hospital to be sold into the black market. In this case, we registered a violation and brought the violators to the court, he said.
There are many ways to legally bring in psychotropic drugs to the local market, but there is a major problem with controlling the gaps in which people can skim the product and sell it afterward. Al-Makaleh explained that the importers sell to wholesalers and then to retailers, pharmacies or the hospitals. This creates a complex net in which we can't control the distribution process. "Therefore the SBMMA issued directives to ban selling medicines to wholesalers to ensure the medicine goes directly from the importers to hospitals or pharmacies," he said.
"Unfortunately,” al-Makaleh continued, “in the past we found mistreatment of drugs and psychotropic substances distribution by wholesalers. It is mandatory for the importers to print the expression “controlled medicine” on the outer cover of the psychotropic substances to facilitate controlling process.”
Undoubtedly, there is a positive outcome of regulating importation of drugs and psychotropic substances. Al-Makaleh confirmed the decline of importing these substances. Restyle reduced from 300,000 packets in 2007 to 45,000 packets in 2008 due to strict measures, applied by the SBMMA.
Yemeni law does not differentiate between Heroin, Hashish or Captagons (commonly used illegal drugs) and Diazepam and Restyle (prescription drugs)
Concerning penalties against traffickers of these substances, “Drugs law sets execution or 25 years imprisonment penalties against traffickers of psychotropic substances, the same penalties against hashish merchants,” al-Makaleh said.
Dr. Youmna al-Aswadi, Addiction Counselor for Future Guardians Life Makers Foundation, said Yemenis rely on Qat as an alternative substance for drugs.
Al-Aswadi warned authorities to take all precautionary measures to combat the drug phenomenon. She said drugs don’t differentiate between lower and higher income households, nor wealthier or poorer countries.
Al-Aswadi revealed that she has already had ten patients come to her, addicted to drugs. These cases included hashish, Captagon, and psychotropic substances such as Diazepam, and Restyle.
On the other hand, some specialists describe the real problem is not in Yemeni law, but in international laws which classified chewing of Qat as illegal practice. Countries such as France and Switzerland consider Qat legal, but the UK, the Netherlands, most African countries, the US, Sweden, Finland and Jordan.
The WHO explains that Qat contains many different compounds and, therefore, Qat chewing may have many different effects. The major effects include those on the gastro-intestinal system and on the nervous system, such as increased alertness, dependence, tolerance and psychiatric symptoms.
Because of the large number of different compounds in Qat, it is not feasible to include all the effects of all components of Qat. As this report is submitted to the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence of the WHO, it focuses on the psychoactive properties of Qat and the main psychoactive compounds, cathinone and cathine, found in Qat.
Dr. Mona al-Modhwahi from the WHO office in Yemen revealed that the WHO would finance researches to find the relation between the affects of Qat and psychological diseases. Prof. Abdul Rahman Thabet, from Sana’a University, denied WHO’s classification of Qat saying, “It is not fair because the chewers of Qat can give up chewing without the result of dangerous reactions, contrary to regular users of similar psychotropic substances such amphetamine.”
