Doggy filth: they want to ban the sale of psychotropic veterinary drugs without a prescription

Drugs for dogs and cats with psychotropic effects may be banned for free sale without a prescription and a VET passport. The State Duma deputies are asking the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and the Prosecutor General's Office about this after media reports about the popularity of such veterinary drugs among young people. In teenagers' social networks, there is information about taking such remedies to achieve euphoria. They are now sold over the counter. The deputies propose to introduce a stricter regime for their implementation in order to avoid harm to children's health.

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Veterinary medicines containing the substance gabapentin are proposed to be banned for free sale without a prescription and a veterinary passport of the animal. With the initiative to introduce such restrictions, the head of the State Duma Committee on the Development of civil Society, issues of public and religious associations, Yana Lantratova, appealed to the heads of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, as well as to the first Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoly Razinkin. The reason was cases of mass use of the drug by minors: social networks record the availability of publicly available instructions for its non-medical use.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov

— Gabapentin, although not an opioid, can cause altered states of consciousness when taken in high doses or in combination with other substances. As drug control in conventional pharmacies is tightened, those prone to abuse are beginning to look for alternatives in veterinary clinics and stores. Veterinary medicines often contain similar active ingredients, but the rules for their sale are much more lenient," Yana Lantratova explained to Izvestia.

In her appeals to the departments, she clarifies that today the drug can be freely purchased in retail stores and online without a prescription. At the same time, she draws attention to the fact that the Russian Federation already has requirements for the digital labeling of veterinary medicines, and prescription leave has been introduced for a number of them.

Given the social significance of the issue, as well as the need to protect children from information and practices harmful to their health and development, it is necessary to prohibit the free sale of veterinary drugs without a prescription and a VET passport, the deputy believes. This will confirm that the medicine is being purchased for a real animal.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Varvara Gertier

The Ministry of Agriculture informed Izvestia that currently veterinary drugs based on the active substance gabapentin are not included in the list of prescription drugs.

—The issues of regulating the circulation of veterinary medicines are being considered in accordance with the established procedure in cooperation with relevant departments, the expert community and market participants within the framework of current legislation," the ministry's press service explained.

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Izvestia also sent requests to the Ministry of Health and the Prosecutor General's Office with a request to comment on the deputy's proposals.

Earlier, a similar initiative was made by the head of the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, Sergei Leonov. According to him, children should not have access to the purchase on marketplaces of veterinary drugs containing substances with intoxicating effects, analogues of which are available to people only by prescription. The parliamentarian said that he had sent appeals to the Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut and the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova.

The danger of children using veterinary medicines for animals

The need to tighten the turnover of veterinary medicines is supported by the Russian Guild of Dog Handlers.

Photo: Global Look Press/Andres Leiva/ZUMAPRESS.com

— These drugs for animals are not essential medicines for survival. As a rule, they are used in long-distance transportation, flights, so that the cat or dog feels more at ease. If they are used for other purposes by children, then, of course, their sales must be severely limited," Nikolai Zakharov, the organization's president, told Izvestia.

In his opinion, the measures proposed by the deputy are not even enough.

— We need not only a prescription and a veterinary passport, we should introduce strict reporting of veterinary pharmacies and the sale of such a drug only through veterinary clinics, and not pet stores, through which many animal medicines are now distributed, — explained the representative of the industry.

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In turn, Natalia Krikunova, director of the charity fund for animal welfare "Pick up a Friend", noted that the main thing is not to overdo it with these strictures.

"The drug should remain accessible to animals and not become scarce, so I believe that selling it by prescription and with a VET passport will be optimal," the expert clarified.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

Doctors also share the concern, since a number of such tablets for animals contain gabapentin, which has a dangerous effect on the human nervous system, Alexander Kalyuzhin, senior lecturer at the Department of Fundamental Medical Sciences at the State University of Education, told Izvestia.

— This is a risk of serious poisoning. The drug affects the nervous system. In adolescents, the drug often gives not fun, but "switching off": severe drowsiness, dizziness, shaky gait, lethargy, slurred speech, lapses in reaction. Due to the lower body weight and high sensitivity of the brain in children, the consequences can be more severe than in adults, " he explained to Izvestia.

The danger of using this substance was also confirmed by the National Anti-Drug Union. According to Alina Rudakova, deputy chairman of the board of the organization, it changes consciousness and causes a fairly rapid formation of addiction in an adult, not to mention children and adolescents who have not fully formed their psyche, brain regions and, in general, accelerated addiction to this form of addiction.