Mumbai: In a move that could prove detrimental to public health, homeopaths will soon be able to prescribe modern medicines in Maharashtra after completing a six-month course in pharmacology. The scope of what kinds of medicines and diseases this may include is still undecided.A notification to this effect was recently issued by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), allowing homeopathic practitioners who completed the Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP) to register with the council. The MMC has been operating without an elected body of doctors since 2022.“We received directions from the govt and a clearance from the law and judiciary department regarding the case pending before the court. We will begin registering them starting July 15. Till then, we will be studying what kinds of medicines they will be allowed to prescribe,” said MMC administrator Dr Vinky Rughwani. The controversial decision had its seed sown in 2014, when the state govt amended the Maharashtra Homoeopathic Practitioners Act and the Maharashtra Medical Council Act of 1965, allowing homeopaths to prescribe modern medicines under certain conditions.The Indian Medical Association (IMA) challenged the amendments, and the Bombay High Court issued a stay. Since late last year, there were efforts to bypass this stay.In Dec 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) directed chemists and wholesalers to “sell allopathic medicines to homeopathic registered doctors who completed the CCMP course”.Dr Santosh Kadam, president, IMA Maharashtra, said, “FDA is a drug regulator but it does not have the authority to recognise who can practice medicine.” That authority lies only with the MMC. The MMC’s circular, Kadam said, gives legal weight to what was until now a toothless directive. In Feb, there was a meeting between medical education minister Hasan Mushrif, BJP MLA Randhir Sawarkar, and representatives from the MMC and homeopathic associations. It was here that MMC was directed to implement the 2014 amendment.“Both FDA and MMC were pressured to pass such order. Many homeopathic colleges are either owned by or indirectly affiliated with politicians in the state,” said Dr Kadam.