Chandigarh, 17 February 2025: Private drug de-addiction centres in Punjab have become profit-driven enterprises, with some operators selling medicines meant for addicts on the black market at inflated prices, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has warned in a letter to Chief Secretary KAP Sinha.
The bureau flagged concerns over the widespread sale of buprenorphine and naloxone—subsidized drugs used to help addicts recover—being diverted into illegal trade.
“Many centres register fake addicts to justify drug procurement, selling each tablet in black for as high as ₹300 instead of the official ₹40,” the letter stated. A 2019 report by the Punjab Food and Drug Administration had already noted the increasing abuse of these medicines in the state.
During an investigation into a case registered on December 31, 2024, officials discovered that multiple de-addiction centres were being run by single entities. “These centres have turned into lucrative enterprises, with owners setting up their own pharmaceutical units to manufacture and supply drugs not only to their centres but also to others,” said Vigilance Bureau Chief Director Varinder Kumar.
The bureau submitted a list of individuals running multiple centres and manufacturing their own drugs, revealing that out of 177 private de-addiction centres in Punjab, 117 are controlled by just 10 companies or entities.
To curb monopolization and misuse, the bureau recommended stricter licensing policies, including limiting the number of centres owned by an individual or family and making biometric verification mandatory for patients.
It also suggested setting up high-level committees to monitor drug distribution and shifting de-addiction centres to a public-private partnership (PPP) model for better transparency and accountability.
