02Sep 2019

KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF LIBYAN PHARMACISTS TOWARDS RULES OF PSYCHOTROPIC AND NARCOTIC DRUGS DISPENSING.

  • Lecturer at Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benghazi.
  • Assistant Lecturer at Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benghazi.
  • Department of Clinical Pharmacy at Benghazi Medical Center.
  • Bacholar degree of pharmaceutical sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benghazi.
Crossref Cited-by Linking logo
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • References
  • Cite This Article as
  • Corresponding Author

Psychotropic and narcotic drugs abuse and misuse are among the most growing problems in Libya and worldwide, that is why they must be strictly prescribed and dispensed. Since the pharmacist has the major role in dispensing and controlling psychotropic and narcotic drugs, we aimed in this study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the Libyan pharmacists towards psychotropic and narcotic drug dispensing. An online questionnaire was spread using social network groups, the questionnaire included 10 items about the dispensing of psychotropic drugs and demographic information of the responding pharmacists. The purpose of these questions was to find out if certain problems regarding psychotropic drugs dispensing occurred in pharmacy practice and how pharmacists dealt with these problems. The results showed that pharmacists regarding psychotropic and narcotic dispensing without a prescription tended not to break the rules, but they did so regarding the fate of prescription after dispensing. The majority of participating pharmacists tended to neither keep the prescription, nor have a record for dispensed psychotropic medications. From this study it was concluded that pharmacists may have a lack of knowledge and loose of attitude regarding psychotropic dispensing laws. Educational programs and training of pharmacist must be taken into consideration.


  1. Al-Mohamadi, A., Badr, A., Bin Mahfouz, L., Samargandi, D., & Al Ahdal, A. (2013). Dispensing medications without prescription at Saudi community pharmacy: Extent and perception. Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 21(1), 13?18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsps.2011.11.003
  2. Albsoul-Younes, A., Wazaify, M., Yousef, A. M., & Tahaineh, L. (2010). Abuse and misuse of prescription and nonprescription drugs sold in community pharmacies in Jordan. Substance Use and Misuse, 45(9), 1319?1329. https://doi.org/10.3109/10826080802490683
  3. Deans, Z. (2010). Ethics in pharmacy practice University of Bristol. Retrieved from http://pharmacyresearchuk.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/11/Ethics_in_pharmacy_practice_200910.pdf
  4. Elamouri, F. M., Musumari, P. M., Techasrivichien, T., Farjallah, A., Elfandi, S., Alsharif, O. F., ? Kihara, M. (2018). ?Now drugs in Libya are much cheaper than food?: A qualitative study on substance use among young Libyans in post-revolution Tripoli, Libya. International Journal of Drug Policy, 53, 23?31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.11.026
  5. Ghitza, U., Ghitza, U., Sparenborg, S., & Tai, B. (2011). Improving drug abuse treatment delivery through adoption of harmonized electronic health record systems. Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, 125. https://doi.org/10.2147/sar.s23030
  6. Hussain, A., Ibrahim, M. I. M., & Baber, Z. U. D. (2012). Compliance with legal requirements at community pharmacies: A cross sectional study from Pakistan. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 20(3), 183?190. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-7174.2011.00178.x
  7. Jaber, D., Bulatova, N., Suyagh, M., Yousef, A. M., & Wazaify, M. (2015). Knowledge, attitude and opinion of drug misuse and abuse by pharmacy students: A cross-sectional study in Jordan. Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 14(8), 1501?1508. https://doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v14i8.25
  8. Lord, S., Downs, G., Furtaw, P., Chaudhuri, A., Silverstein, A., Gammaitoni, A., & Budman, S. (2009). Nonmedical use of prescription opioids and stimulants among student pharmacists. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 49(4), 519?528. https://doi.org/10.1331/JAPhA.2009.08027
  9. Murthy, P. Swaroop HS, C. A. (2016). Guidelines to Prevent the Misuse of Prescribed Medications. Ac.In. Retrieved from http://www.vims.ac.in/pdf/NIMHANS-Booklet.pdf
  10. Puspitasari, H. P., Faturrohmah, A., & Hermansyah, A. (2011). Do Indonesian community pharmacy workers respond to antibiotics requests appropriately? Tropical Medicine and International Health, 16(7), 840?846. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2011.02782.x
  11. Radat, F., Irachabal, S., Swendsen, J., & Henry, P. (2002). Analgesic abuse and psychiatric comorbidity in headache patients. [French]\\rAbus d?antalgiques et comorbidite psychiatrique chez les cephalalgiques. Encephale, 28(5 I), 466?471. Retrieved from https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/12386550
  12. Rang, H., Ritter, J., Flower, R., & Henderson, G. (2014). Rang & Dale?s Pharmacology E-Book. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=iOLTBQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Rang+HP,+2007+on&ots=bfNbYj56Bo&sig=pIC_wkK1eF1DblQApXuaJNmbH8A
  13. Rexed, B. (1984). Guidelines for the control of narcotic and psychotropic substances: in the context of the international treaties. Retrieved from https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/39299
  14. Sweileh, W. M., Zyoud, S. H., Sawalha, A. F., Abu-Taha, A., Hussein, A., & Al-Jabi, S. W. (2013, December 2). Medical and biomedical research productivity from Palestine, 2002 - 2011. BMC Research Notes. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-6-41
  15. The Libyan Ministry of Justice ( Accessed July 2016 )Available form http://aladel.gov.ly/home/?p=1299.

[Arwa Benkhaial, Elzahra Samir Buzariba, Nahla Boushnaf, Rokia Berween, Asma Eljazwi and Basma Elquzeri. (2019); KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF LIBYAN PHARMACISTS TOWARDS RULES OF PSYCHOTROPIC AND NARCOTIC DRUGS DISPENSING. Int. J. of Adv. Res. 7 (Sep). 69-77] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com


Elzahra Samir Buzariba
Assistant Lecturer at Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Benghazi

DOI:


Article DOI: 10.21474/IJAR01/9631      
DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/9631