Pregabalin, a drug flagged by Punjab for its potential misuse as habit forming sedative and for its dissociative effects, will come under stricter regulatory control from November 12. Its over-the-counter (OTC) sale will be prohibited, with chemists allowed to dispense it only against a valid prescription issued by a registered medical practitioner. The measures come into effect a month after anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead in Mansa on October 13, allegedly by a chemist whom he had confronted over the sale of addictive medicines.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified the inclusion of Pregabalin under Schedule H1 of the Drugs Rules, 1945, through notification G.S.R. 377(E), issued on May 13, 2026.…