The three-dollar “Cocaine of the poor” is the pill that is about to invade Europe
Bloomberg described what has been dubbed “the poor man's cocaine,” which costs just $3 a pill, and is threatening to proliferate across the Middle East and Europe . It has long been part of the clandestine party scene in what would otherwise be stark Gulf Arab countries, but that is set to change after the authorities decide to eradicate it.
“Europe is bracing for the possible influx of a drug that has gripped the Middle East as political shifts and crackdowns in the Gulf spur producers in Syria and Lebanon to tap into new markets,” warns a new article.
Bloomberg blames the Assad government and allied militias for the rapid spread of the amphetamine known commercially as Captagon, but scientifically known as Phenethhillin, a precursor to amphetamine, used for years as a drug but now become a new drug.
Sold for about $3 to $25 per tablet, the amphetamine-type pill captagon is primarily manufactured and trafficked by individuals and groups linked to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and his ally, the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, according to the Department of US State and Treasury, UK Foreign Office and independent researchers,” Bloomberg writes.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have reportedly recently urged President Assad to stem the flow of Captagon from Syria as part of restored diplomatic ties, even at a time when Damascus has been re-embraced by the Arab League.
The drug was manufactured in the 1960s in Germany and in its medical form it typically treats ailments such as attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy.
It is certainly ironic and arguable that the West now largely blames the Assad government for the proliferation of Captagon, given that for much of the last decade it has been anti-government insurgents known to be the most avid users. At one point the pill also became known as "the drug of jihad".
Reuters previously detailed: "It was discontinued, but an illicit version of the drug continued to be produced in Eastern Europe and later the Arab region, becoming prominent in the conflict that erupted in Syria following anti-government protests in 2011."
Saudi Arabia seizes 8 million Captagon pills as it courts Syria's Assad to clamp down on the trade.
By @Adam_Lucente https://t.co/zhELbd0xk2 via @AlMonitor
— Joshua Landis (@joshua_landis) May 11, 2023
The same report noted its importance on the anti-Assad or "rebel" side. “The illicit version – also dubbed 'the drug of jihad' or 'the cocaine of the poor' – is thought to be made from a mix of phenethyllin, caffeine and other fillers. It generates concentration and drives away sleep and hunger,” Reuters wrote.
It seems clear that such a low-priced exciting drug, apparently with limited side effects, but in reality devastating over time, could present itself as a real disaster for the European market. Even the transit of drugs would be simple, following the passages opened up by clandestine immigration
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The article The three-dollar pill “Cocaine for the poor” that is about to invade Europe comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cocaina-dei-poveri-a-tre-dollari-la-pillola-che-sta-per-invadere-leuropa/ on Fri, 18 Aug 2023 15:00:32 +0000.