Tightening pharmacy system control
By Tea Mariamidze
Monday, December 26
Georgia’s Health Minister, Davit Sergeenko, said that the control of the pharmaceutical system will be tightened, as the country faces a problem with pharmaceutical drug addiction.
Sergeenko made the statement after the Finance Ministry investigative department arrested 29 individuals over being involved in the illegal trade of psychotropic drugs; four of them are managers of the pharmacies trading with psychiatric medications.
The arrested are accused of avoiding large property liabilities.
“The investigation has established that the managers of the pharmacies had been selling psychiatric medications without prescriptions throughout Georgia, including to minors. By doing this, they contributed to the so-called pharmacy drug addiction and endangered human health and lives”, the investigative department stated.
Moreover, the investigative department said the defendants avoided paying taxes, which amounted to 4,639,234 GEL.
Sergeenko thanked the investigative department for carrying out effective investigative activities.
“Pharmaceutical drug addiction has become a huge threat to our young people. I hope that this challenge will be overcome once and for all,” said the minister.
The monitoring of psychotropic pharmacies was initially launched this summer. Every single pharmacy which sells medicine without a prescription will face severe penalties.
Sergeenko added that the ministry would soon draft a document that would include definite regulations for those who break the law.
The Ministry of Health under Sergeenko has already introduced tough rules for pharmacies and presented a long list of medicines which must not be sold without prescriptions.
