The use of cocaine and abuse of medicines like pain-killers and cough syrups is on the rise in India, which has emerged as a major transit point for smuggling of narcotics, a United Nations report said Thursday.
The report on drug abuse by the International Narcotics Control Board said, "Many of the pharmaceutical preparations subject to abuse are manufactured in India," affecting all sections of the population.
It identified buprenorphine, that is injected in most areas in India, cough-syrups containing high level of codeine and dextropropoxyphene, a synthetic pain reliever, as among the most misused medicines.
"Besides supplying local markets in India, cough syrups are also trafficked into Bangladesh, and, in some cases, pharmaceuticals are also trafficked to Myanmar," the report for 2006 said.
The abuse of dextropropoxyphene in the north-eastern states had also increased significantly in recent years and although it has been banned in some states, it is smuggled in and is easily obtained from street merchants, it said.
"In general, pharmaceutical preparations are diverted from domestic distribution routes and are sold without prescription in pharmacies and various other retail outlets in the region," the report observed.
The report also noted that the abuse of amphetamine-type stimulants, popularly known as party drugs, was increasing in the country, while cocaine use was growing, particularly among the newly emerging wealthy population.
