Illegal pills that give ‘superhuman strength’ keeps IS floating in war field
London: Already rife with bloodshed and destruction, war-torn Syria has now become the epicentre of yet another criminal activity- a thriving market for the stimulant drug Captagon.
According to a report in the Washington post, the illegal sale of the small yet highly addictive pill is funding the black-market economy and giving access to the fighters with a steady supply of weapons alongside giving the fighters much needed strength to lead the fight.
Known to produce euphoric effects in users quickly enough, Captagon, a powerful amphetamine tablet, helps the users to remain alert, stay awake for days together, killing with a numb recklessness and abandon.
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The use of the drug has surged in recent times owing to the Syrian war. Cheap and easy to produce using legal materials, the drug can be purchased for less than $20 a tablet and is popular among those Syrian fighters, reported Guardian.
"You can't sleep or even close your eyes, forget about it. And whatever you take to stop it, nothing can stop it", said one of the three Lebanese users who appeared on camera for a BBC Arabic documentary in September.
Relaying his experience, another user said, "I felt like I own the world high, like I have power nobody has. A really nice feeling," while another pitched in, "There was no fear anymore after I took Captagon."
The drugs have been around since the 1960s, when it was popularly used for medicinal purposes in the west and given to people with hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression. But by the 1980s, most countries ended up banning the drugs owing to its addictive nature, but still the drug did not completely disappear, notes the Reuters report.
Another report in Voice of America reveals that Saudi Arabia continued the use of the drugs despite it being shunned in the western world, receiving up to one thirds of the world's supply. About 40,000 to 50,000 Saudis undergo treatment with the drug each year.
And now with breakdown of infrastructure, weakening borders, and mushrooming of armed militants over the 3-year battle for control of Syria the drug has a strong base in Syria turning into a major production site. Though the drug has major side effects such as psychosis and brain damage, the soldiers on the battle-front use it for the ‘superhuman energy’ and ‘courage’ that it gives, according to an ex-Syrian fighter.
Meanwhile UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) regional representative, Masood Karimipour, was quoted by Voice of America as saying, "There's a great deal of trafficking being done of all sorts of illicit goods - guns, drugs, money, people. But what is being manufactured there and who is doing the manufacturing, that's not something we have visibility into from a distance."
