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Monday, March 16, 2026
TopicDrugs

Topic: Drugs

Study links heavy metals, ‘hidden drugs’ in alt meds to liver injury. Safety, regulation debate grows

Kerala researchers study 386 products, covering Ayurveda, Homoeopathy, Siddha, Unani, other traditional remedies. Findings raise concerns about regulatory oversight of Ayush meds.

Chalk & chemicals: How legal sales by PhD scholar, fake firm & dhaba became an inter-state drug pipeline

Telangana anti-narcotics force EAGLE, with help from Rajasthan and UP Police, busted a racket involving supply of banned drugs mephedrone and clophedrone

Maduro’s ‘capture’ by US follows a four-month-long build-up. A look at the timeline

Since September, Trump administration has been carrying out a series of punitive strikes, with most of them happening on the sea, to curtail the flow of drugs into the US.

English researchers chance upon ‘highly potent’ antibiotic. It may help tackle antimicrobial resistance

The new antibiotic, hiding in plain sight so far, can kill seven different types of bacteria, including those causing skin, blood, urinary infections.

Punjab’s war on drugs fell victim to abuse. 8 years on, an overhaul begins

2016 survey estimated that 15.4% of Punjab's population was engaged in substance use. Latest NCRB report says state recorded highest no. of overdose deaths for 2nd straight year in 2023.

Roche patent case: Why SC refused to halt Natco’s generic spinal muscular atrophy drug Risdiplam

Roche had approached Delhi High Court, accusing Natco of violating its Indian patent, before going to the Supreme Court with its petition.

To ease launch of generics & push clinical trials of novel therapies, govt moves to amend drug rules

Proposed amendments to New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules will scrap test licences, cut application processing time. Move part of govt effort to establish India as hub for pharma R&D.

Indian-origin man arrested by Canada border agency for ‘trafficking’ 187 kg of cocaine worth $23.3 mn

Accused identified as Karamveer Singh from Brampton, Ontario. This comes on the heels of the Canadian Police in Ontario arresting 6 men of Indian origin on similar charges.

4 months after fentanyl arrests, 6 Indian-origin men held in $48 mn cocaine bust in Canada

Arrests come amid Canadian crackdown on international drug trafficking networks. Last November, RCMP arrested one Gaganpreet Randhawa in what was termed ‘largest’ drug lab bust.

Gut health probiotics now among top selling drugs in India, but doctors advise caution against hype

Due to self-administration & preventive use of probiotics, besides doctors’ prescriptions, probiotic brands Enterogermina & Econorm have clocked in over Rs 450 cr in sales over the past yr.

On Camera

Gulf conflict pushes Dubai diamond traders to eye Surat for rough stone auctions. But there are hurdles

Industry leaders say India’s complicated customs process and GST levies are deterrents for traders to come to Surat for auctions.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba, the man Iran must keep alive & the secret force ‘tasked with it’—all about NOPO

The Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, or NOPO, was the only force Ali Khamenei trusted.It was founded in 1991 and is more feared than the Revolutionary Guards.

Peaceful power transfers followed uprisings in India’s neighbourhood. It’s a sign of mature democracies

Rating democracies is a tricky business. I am only using the simple metric of who in the Indian subcontinent has had the most peaceful, stable, normal political transitions and continuity.