The security authorities in the country are working to confront this phenomenon by launching continuous campaigns to arrest those suspected of promoting smuggled medicines of unknown origin.
In two separate operations, security forces in Marrakesh (south of the country) arrested people suspected of being involved in the possession and promotion of smuggled drugs, which are sexual stimulants and weight gain materials, after monitoring advertisements on social media for the sale of these materials.
Law 17.04 (Code of Medicines and Pharmacy) punishes anyone found guilty of illegally practicing the pharmacy profession with imprisonment from three months to five years, and a fine, or one of these two penalties.
tighten surveillance
In a letter addressed to the General Directorate of Customs, the Confederation of Moroccan Pharmacists Syndicates demanded that all necessary capabilities be harnessed in order to address the phenomenon of drugs smuggled into the national territory, which pose a threat to public health.
The general secretary of the Confederation of Moroccan Pharmacists Syndicates, Amine Bouzoubaa, says that this message comes in light of the increasing phenomenon of smuggled medicines being leaked into the country, which is confirmed by the volume of these medicines seized by the security services.
Bozoubaa said in a statement to “Sky News Arabia” that:
- Medicines that are being sold on the black market are manufactured in secret laboratories and in conditions that do not respect internationally approved storage standards.
All medicines that are marketed outside pharmacies are of dubious origin.
Marketing and selling smuggled medicines through social media has contributed to the spread of the phenomenon around the world.
Intensive security campaigns against those involved in promoting smuggled medicines and tightening border controls would contribute to confronting this phenomenon.
Health safety threat
The pharmaceutical actor revealed that sexual stimulants and abortion pills, along with vitamins of various kinds, are among the most prominent medicines and substances that are smuggled outside the framework of the law to Morocco.
In this context, Bouzoubaa added:
- Promoters of these drugs seek to respond to the needs of the market, and to provide the most requested substances, including prohibited ones.
- Abortion pills that are traded illegally pose a serious threat to the health and safety of women.
- The most dangerous types of smuggled drugs are those that are used as narcotics, are marketed among young people and are a factor influencing criminal behaviour.
- It is difficult to ensure the safety of smuggled and counterfeit medicines, which become toxic if they do not comply with applicable manufacturing and storage conditions.
blocking the phenomenon
Actors in the health sector are calling for tighter control over drug smuggling and marketing, and for concerted efforts to eradicate this scourge, which poses a serious threat to public health.
The expert in health policies and systems, Tayeb Hamidi, confirms that Morocco is among the countries that do not know a large spread of the smuggled drug trade, given the presence of a sufficient number of pharmacies distributed across the various regions of the Kingdom.
In a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, Hamidi stresses that, in addition to strengthening the security and legal approach to address this dangerous phenomenon, a number of measures are required, including:
- Universalizing health coverage so that all citizens can access medicine without having to search for it on the black market at low prices.
- Crackdown on the sale of medicines via the Internet.
- Educating the consumer about the danger of buying drugs of unknown origin because of their serious health consequences.
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