Crackdown on Narcotic Sales to Children in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: Narcotic injections such as opioids, morphine, codeine, and fentanyl, as well as cough medicines like Corex and benzodiazepines, are being illegally sold, often without a prescription and to unaccompanied children. The APSCPCR and the Visakhapatnam district drug administration held a review meeting on Saturday with local drug store owners to discuss measures to control this. APSCPCR chairperson Kesali Apparao emphasised the need for continuous monitoring and urged strict action against those involved in illegal sales. Assistant director of the district drug control department, S. Vijaya Kumar, stated that CCTV systems would be installed in all medical shops, and awareness programmes would be conducted to make Visakhapatnam a drug-free city.