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Captagon is a drug that is prone to abuse. Photo/Reuters
DAMASCUS – Captagon is a concern in diplomatic discussions among Arab countries, after the normalization of relations with Syria. Captagon is not just an amphetamine drug, but a diplomatic tool for Syria’s membership in the Arab League.
Syria has offered to other Arab countries, if they want to fight the sedative drug trade, they will have to open up with Syria. On May 1, 2023, Damascus agreed to cooperate with Jordan to identify Captagon production and smuggling. A week later, a prominent Syrian smuggler and his family were killed in an airstrike in Syria.
Here are 4 facts about Captagon.
1. Drugs for Attention Disorders
Launch Reuters, Captagon is a brand of psychoactive drug that was produced in 1960 at the German company, Degussa Pharma Gruppe. It is used for the treatment of attention deficit disorder, and a nervous system stimulant. Captagon is categorized as an amphetamine because it contains fenetylline.
In 1986, fenetylline was classified as a psychotropic. Most countries no longer produce Captagon. The International Narcotics Control Council says no country has produced fenetylline since 2009.
Even though production of Captagon officially stopped, the rest of the drug was smuggled to Eastern Europe, especially Bulgaria, to the Middle East.
The drug was produced in the 1990s to 2000s in Bulgaria. The drug was smuggled into the Balkans and by Turkish criminal networks into the Arabian peninsula.
2.Mass Produced in Syria
