Designer drugs like methamphetamine and Ecstasy are becoming the drug of choice for abusers, who are getting younger, with some hardly in their teens.
These “party” drugs are becoming more popular than opiate-based drugs as they are more easily available ‑ being concocted locally - and hard to trace through standard police urine tests. There is also the misconception that such drugs are not addictive.
● Many of these drugs, in pill form, are heavily contaminated, some even with rat poison.
● According to private drug rehabilitation centres, almost 80% of their new inmates are users of such drugs.
● Many of those in rehabilitation are in their teens or 20s and suffer from brain damage and other side effects.
● The National Anti-Drug Agency will begin a pilot programme by the year’s end to specifically treat synthetic drug abusers.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Types of party drugs
Erimin 5
Ketamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (Syabu, Ice, Yaba, WY, Pil Kuda) is a type of amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS), which also covers amphetamine (Bennies, Benz), Ecstasy, cocaine (Coke, Snow, Blow, Toot) and crack (Base, Sugar Block, Roxanne). ATS is a synthetic drug, produced through chemical reactions, it acts on the central nervous system.
Users feel “awkwardly confident” and bold, and this also makes them aggressive. They usually experience sleeping difficulty, staying awake for up to eight days.
The detrimental effects of methamphetamine:
● It affects various sides of the brain instead of being receptor-specific like conventional drugs. It makes the user more violent, aggressive and will in the long run cause brain damage, 60% of which is irreversible.
● It is highly acidic and can destroy the walls of blood vessels or cause internal vessel rupture.
● It affects the cardiovascular system, leading to heart attack or stroke.
● It leads to mental disorder. More than 40% of those taking methamphetamines suffer from mental disorder after two years.
Ketamine is an anaesthetic for horses, legally manufactured in India in liquid form, but the powder form is abused as a party drug. Low doses give users a drunk-like effect while a high dose induces an “out of the world”, dream-like or floating sensation. The drug numbs the users and their thinking, and hence, is widely used as a rape drug.
Only a certain percentage of users develop dependency, but even those not addicted to it will experience the following effects:
● Severe epigastric pain.
● Urinary incontinence (passing urine every five minutes), urinary track infection, kidney failure.
● Pronounced damage to the cerebella (back of brain) and brain stem (the part of brain that controls our stomach and urinary bladder movement).
Erimin 5 (Five-chai, Happy 5) or Nimetazepam, which belongs to the benzodiazepine group of drugs, is an anti-anxiety, sleeping tablet that has the properties of amphetamine. It is highly abusive, hence the benzodiazepine was added to the Malaysian Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 in May, 2001.
Monday, October 26, 2009
83% of new drug addicts traced in the country were Malays.
Kosmo! reported that 83% of new drug addicts traced in the country were Malays.
National Anti-Drug Agency assistant medical director Dr Sangeeh Kaur said a survey done between January and July showed that many of these addicts had just sat for the PMR and SPM.
“A total of 2,680 new addicts were traced throughout the country, with 10% being Chinese and 7% Indians,” she said.
She said 1,024 of them had PMR qualifications, while 913 had SPM qualifications.
As for the rest, 46 had sat for the STPM while 29 were diploma holders and four had degrees.
The survey also showed that those with higher academic qualifications were less likely to get involved in drug abuse, Dr Sangeeh Kaur said.
“Many of them started taking drugs because of the bad influence from friends and out of curiosity. The most popular drugs are heroin, morphine, syabu and marijuana,” she added.
The Star Online 27/10/09
National Anti-Drug Agency assistant medical director Dr Sangeeh Kaur said a survey done between January and July showed that many of these addicts had just sat for the PMR and SPM.
“A total of 2,680 new addicts were traced throughout the country, with 10% being Chinese and 7% Indians,” she said.
She said 1,024 of them had PMR qualifications, while 913 had SPM qualifications.
As for the rest, 46 had sat for the STPM while 29 were diploma holders and four had degrees.
The survey also showed that those with higher academic qualifications were less likely to get involved in drug abuse, Dr Sangeeh Kaur said.
“Many of them started taking drugs because of the bad influence from friends and out of curiosity. The most popular drugs are heroin, morphine, syabu and marijuana,” she added.
The Star Online 27/10/09
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
2009/06/18 - Malaysia wants US to explain trafficking listing
Malaysia will seek an explanation from the United States embassy on its government's report which placed Malaysia on its list of top trafficking offenders.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday making judgments beyond Kuala Lumpur's control would be unfair."I need to know what it was that has become an issue. If it is within our control, we will do whatever we can to overcome it, but, of course, there are limitations."Our borders and shorelines are very porous and they should be realistic about this and take all this into consideration." He said issues regarding human trafficking could not be solved overnight.
"We will get an accurate and true account from the embassy. Like what we did in 2007, this is nothing new."Malaysia was blacklisted in 2001 but its ranking improved to Tier 2 in subsequent years until 2007, when it was relegated to Tier 3. Last year, after the enactment of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, Malaysia was again elevated to Tier 2.Hishammuddin said he was not surprised with the report but Kuala Lumpur would not submit any protest note.Malaysia is listed with 16 other countries in Tier 3 this year, including six newly-added African nations.Tier 3 countries face possible sanctions such as the withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade related US aid."What is there as the impact? If an economic sanction is to be imposed, it will not affect our position in this present economic slowdown."Human trafficking is an international issue and they have no teeth, except to put Malaysia at that level. However, this does not mean that Malaysia has no responsibility towards the world community."Hishammuddin stressed that it was incumbent upon Malaysia to address the problem.To prove a point, he said he had spoken to the British high commissioner to Malaysia on the matter recently."My colleague from Australia will be here to sign a memorandum of understanding on trafficking. We will also work with the US on this."Hishammuddin said a tripartite agreement on human trafficking was timely "but without any threat or sanctions, and without pressure on us".He said Malaysia wanted to be part of the international community and would do whatever it could within its capacity to address the issues."We have come up with the (Anti-Trafficking in Persons) Act. The situation has been remedied but now, I have to find out the truth about this."Hishammuddin also said the cabinet committee on foreign workers and the committee on legal workers had been combined into one and would be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin."They will discuss issues on refugees, illegal workers, street children and others. "We are fully aware of our responsibility to address these issues. I will do it without any pressure from anybody because that is our responsibility," he said, adding that Muhyiddin would chair the first meeting soon.
addthis_pub = 'nstonline';
Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday making judgments beyond Kuala Lumpur's control would be unfair."I need to know what it was that has become an issue. If it is within our control, we will do whatever we can to overcome it, but, of course, there are limitations."Our borders and shorelines are very porous and they should be realistic about this and take all this into consideration." He said issues regarding human trafficking could not be solved overnight.
"We will get an accurate and true account from the embassy. Like what we did in 2007, this is nothing new."Malaysia was blacklisted in 2001 but its ranking improved to Tier 2 in subsequent years until 2007, when it was relegated to Tier 3. Last year, after the enactment of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, Malaysia was again elevated to Tier 2.Hishammuddin said he was not surprised with the report but Kuala Lumpur would not submit any protest note.Malaysia is listed with 16 other countries in Tier 3 this year, including six newly-added African nations.Tier 3 countries face possible sanctions such as the withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade related US aid."What is there as the impact? If an economic sanction is to be imposed, it will not affect our position in this present economic slowdown."Human trafficking is an international issue and they have no teeth, except to put Malaysia at that level. However, this does not mean that Malaysia has no responsibility towards the world community."Hishammuddin stressed that it was incumbent upon Malaysia to address the problem.To prove a point, he said he had spoken to the British high commissioner to Malaysia on the matter recently."My colleague from Australia will be here to sign a memorandum of understanding on trafficking. We will also work with the US on this."Hishammuddin said a tripartite agreement on human trafficking was timely "but without any threat or sanctions, and without pressure on us".He said Malaysia wanted to be part of the international community and would do whatever it could within its capacity to address the issues."We have come up with the (Anti-Trafficking in Persons) Act. The situation has been remedied but now, I have to find out the truth about this."Hishammuddin also said the cabinet committee on foreign workers and the committee on legal workers had been combined into one and would be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin."They will discuss issues on refugees, illegal workers, street children and others. "We are fully aware of our responsibility to address these issues. I will do it without any pressure from anybody because that is our responsibility," he said, adding that Muhyiddin would chair the first meeting soon.
addthis_pub = 'nstonline';
Malaysian drug mule held at Sydney airport
A Malaysian woman, 26, has been held on suspicion of smuggling drugs into Australia last week.
She apparently swallowed small packets of drugs in a bid to escape detection. The woman was detained at the Sydney International Airport after arriving on a flight from Phuket, Thailand.A federal police spokesman said the woman was believed to have behaved in a suspicious manner at the airport and this caught the attention of the Customs and Border Protection officers."The woman was stopped and her luggage searched thoroughly. Despite not finding anything, the authorities were suspicious and believed that the woman had swallowed the drugs," the spokesman said.
"She was taken to a nearby hospital where X-rays showed more than two dozen little white packets in her stomach. After being questioned, the woman admitted she had been paid US$5,000 (RM17,600) to smuggle the drugs."It is understood 25 packets of heroin, weighing about 500g, were retrieved from the woman. The drugs are believed to be worth several thousand Australian dollars.Drug syndicates in Malaysia had also used a Filipino to smuggle drugs abroad. The woman, in her 30s, was arrested recently by airport authorities in Hong Kong on arrival from Kuala Lumpur. She was found to have 42 packets of heroin, weighing 206g, in her stomach.Bukit Aman is probing the possibility that the two cases may be connected to the arrest of four Africans, one of whom was a woman, in Jalan Ampang on Tuesday.Police found 16.5kg of heroin, valued at RM1.3 million, on them. Police later picked up two Pakistanis.The six are believed to have used Malaysia as a transit for distributing the drugs. The heroin is believed to have been smuggled from Afghanistan via Pakistan with Australia as its final destination.
She apparently swallowed small packets of drugs in a bid to escape detection. The woman was detained at the Sydney International Airport after arriving on a flight from Phuket, Thailand.A federal police spokesman said the woman was believed to have behaved in a suspicious manner at the airport and this caught the attention of the Customs and Border Protection officers."The woman was stopped and her luggage searched thoroughly. Despite not finding anything, the authorities were suspicious and believed that the woman had swallowed the drugs," the spokesman said.
"She was taken to a nearby hospital where X-rays showed more than two dozen little white packets in her stomach. After being questioned, the woman admitted she had been paid US$5,000 (RM17,600) to smuggle the drugs."It is understood 25 packets of heroin, weighing about 500g, were retrieved from the woman. The drugs are believed to be worth several thousand Australian dollars.Drug syndicates in Malaysia had also used a Filipino to smuggle drugs abroad. The woman, in her 30s, was arrested recently by airport authorities in Hong Kong on arrival from Kuala Lumpur. She was found to have 42 packets of heroin, weighing 206g, in her stomach.Bukit Aman is probing the possibility that the two cases may be connected to the arrest of four Africans, one of whom was a woman, in Jalan Ampang on Tuesday.Police found 16.5kg of heroin, valued at RM1.3 million, on them. Police later picked up two Pakistanis.The six are believed to have used Malaysia as a transit for distributing the drugs. The heroin is believed to have been smuggled from Afghanistan via Pakistan with Australia as its final destination.
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