Captagon
News:
Captagon trade has taken centre stage in talks again, as Arab League reinstates Syria as a member.
What:
- It is an amphetamine-type drug.
Significance:
- It is highly addictive.
How:
- The drug stimulates the CNS (central nervous system), leading to:
- Energy boost
- Enhanced focus
- Prolonged wakefulness
- Sense of euphoria
- This drug stays in the blood for some 36 hours.
- When taken orally, the effects peak in 1-3 hours and last for 7-12 hours.
- It can cause side-effects:
- Skin flushing
- High body temperature
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of weight
- Problems in thinking clearly
- Memory loss
- Heart problems
- Stroke
- Even death
Who:
- Historically used by the Allied forces and Nazi Germany troops during the WWII.
- According to reports, the US military still uses this drug.
Where:
- Current version emerged in Bulgaria.
- Smuggled to the Arabian Peninsula by the Balkan and Turkish criminal networks.
- It is mainly produced in Syria.
- It is smuggled across West Asia.
When:
- Original version first produced in 1960s.
- It contained fenetylline- a synthetic compound of the phenethylamine family.
- It was produced by Degussa Pharma Gruppe, a German company.
- It was used to treat:
- Attention deficit disorders
- Narcolepsy, etc.
- It was banned in 1980s due to concerns over its addictive nature.
- The current version is a counterfeit.
Facts:
- It is alleged that the Captagon sale has been a financial lifeline for the al-Assad (Syrian President) government, even as the country continues to suffer the economic crisis going on since 2011, when the civil war broke out.
- In 2014, it was reported that the drug was being used by the Islamic State and Syrian fighters to supress their appetite and boost their alertness during battles.
- The foreign ministers of Jordan, Iraq and Syria have agreed to cooperate to identify and curtail the illegal production and smuggling of this drug.
- Following this meeting, a high-profile Syrian drug smuggler was killed in an airstrike in southern Syria, reportedly carried out by Jordan.
- Amphetamine use by militaries:
- Amphetamines were discovered in 1910 and were 1st chemically synthesized in 1927.
- Its use by the armed forced peaked during the WWII.
- Pervitin was a methamphetamine used by Nazi Germany. Noted use include during the Blitzkrieg strategy.
- Benzedrine was an amphetamine sulphate used by the Allied forces.
- In the US:
- The US government banned Benzedrine inhalers only in 1965. However, soldiers continued to use it.
- Reports of the use of ‘go pills’ among pilots of the US Air Force.
- Use of Dexedrine the US Air Force linked to inadvertent bombing of Canadian soldiers in 2022.
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