(MENAFN- Jordan Times) AMMAN - The prevalence of the illegal drug Captagon is a problem from a political, legal and humanitarian perspective, according to Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Jordan, Mayyada Wazaify.
Speaking during a webinar titled
“The Impact of the Amphetamine Captagon on Jordan: A Perspective of Patients and Frontline Workers” held last week at the CBRL Amman Institute, Wazaify said that Captagon belongs to the Amphetamine type of stimulant drugs, and noted that Captagon is the second most commonly used drug, after hashish.
It is estimated that 0.7 per cent of the world's population aged between 15 and 64 years old take amphetamines. Twenty million reported consuming the amphetamine-type stimulant ecstasy in the past year, the professor said.
Furthermore, people addicted to drugs take different quantities of the drug at different intervals, and often combine Captagon with other substances, Wazaify said, noting that withdrawal effects include general fatigue, anxiety, nervousness and tachycardia.
“Many use Captagon to boost their ability to work and study, and they get the substance from either drug dealers or friends and acquaintances,” Wazaify said. According to the professor, the cheap price and wide availability of Captagon encourages its consumption.
Friends and family were cited as the main source of motivation for addicts to receive willing or compulsory treatment, Wazaify added.
Also speaking during the webinar, Christina Steenkamp from Oxford University said that“Captagon mainly comes to Jordan via Syria, as Syria became the major regional producer”.
Steenkamp attributed the reasons for drug trafficking from Syria to the factors such as: a pre-war pharmaceutical industry, geographic location and financing from armed groups.
“Some of these criminal groups in Syria are linked with Lebanese drug rings, which smuggle Captagon from Lebanese ports,” Steenkamp said, adding that economic hardships affecting the population from both sides of the border have also contributed to the increase of Captagon trafficking.
In response to the drug's surge in popularity, Jordan has confiscated more than 33 million Captagon tablets, and border patrols have killed around 30 smugglers in 2023 thus far, according to Steenkamp.
“Ongoing political instability in Syria perpetuates conditions for Captagon manufacturing and smuggling,” Steenkamp pointed out, adding that the issue must be addressed with a holistic approach.
The presentation provided an overview on the findings of a study about the impact of Captagon on Jordan with a focus on the drug's relationship to organised crime, and its role as a source of addiction, the organisers said.
The project“uniquely combines knowledge from social pharmacy, criminology and international relations to gain a comprehensive understanding of the many ways in which Captagon impacts Jordan's public health and law enforcement institutions”, according to organisers.