poledriver
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Captagon: The drug behind the Syrian bloodshed
THE Syrian civil war is hardcore. It is bloody, desperate and deadly.
It's been ongoing since 2011, after an uprising by protesters during the period of the Arab Spring. As the people begged for democracy, the Syrian army shot at them.
From here the country, under President Assad's regime, descended into a nationwide war between government and anti-government groups .
Two years later, more than 120,000 people are dead, four million are displaced and tens of thousands have been imprisoned. The country is in ruin with some citizens forced to starve due to army blockades. In one town, Muadamiyat al-Sham, 12,000 are expected to die from starvation by the winter of 2013.
On August 21, 2013, the nerve agent sarin was used to slaughter citizens - including children. It drew worldwide condemnation, with the UN calling it the "most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them".
So with an expensive war on the bloody hands of Syrian fighters, it is claimed they have turned to drugs for funding and relief from the horrors of war, Reuters reported.
Syria is now the number one exporter and producer of the stimulant drug Fenethylline, marketed under the brand name Captagon. Drug experts say the Middle Eastern country has overtaken production from regional players such as Lebanon - who has encountered a 90 per cent drop in production from 2011.
The stimulant drug, created in the 1960s and once used to treat ADHD, is cheap to manufacture and has allegedly been used by government and anti-government forces to fund weapons for the civil war.
There are reports the drug generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and consumption by Syrian fighters helps them endure long battles. These claims have not been independently verified, yet experts told Reuters it is highly likely.
State media often documents the seizure of Captagon pills when rebel fighters bases are raided and the Islamic militant group, Hezbollah, which backs Syria's Assad regime, "has a long history of dabbling in the drug trade to help with funding", according a former US Treasury official, Matthew Levitt.
A drug control officer in the city of Homs told Reuters of the effects of the drug on fighters held for questioning: "We would beat them, and they wouldn't feel the pain. Many of them would laugh while we were dealing them heavy blows," he said.
The drug is now seen as a major contributor to the functioning of the Syrian war, as all other economic activities have slowed in the country. The destruction of infrastructure, weakened borders and control by armed forces has turned the war-torn country into the Captagon capital.
Although Syria has long been a transit point for drugs coming from Europe, Turkey and Lebanon and destined for the wealthy Gulf states, the country now finds itself the major producer of Ceptagon, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Not only are Syrian fighters using the pills to stay awake, ordinary citizens have also turned to the drug to endure the every day horrors.
"The use of Captagon and other pills increased after the revolution even among civilians because of psychological and economic pressures," a psychiatrist named George told Reuters.
With effects of Captagon ranging from euphoria, increased energy and lack of appetite, and the drug selling for xx (removed) and xx (removed), it is easy to see why the drug has become popular in bloody, desperate and deadly Syria.
http://www.news.com.au/world/middle...syrian-bloodshed/story-fnh81ifq-1226802434860
THE Syrian civil war is hardcore. It is bloody, desperate and deadly.
It's been ongoing since 2011, after an uprising by protesters during the period of the Arab Spring. As the people begged for democracy, the Syrian army shot at them.
From here the country, under President Assad's regime, descended into a nationwide war between government and anti-government groups .
Two years later, more than 120,000 people are dead, four million are displaced and tens of thousands have been imprisoned. The country is in ruin with some citizens forced to starve due to army blockades. In one town, Muadamiyat al-Sham, 12,000 are expected to die from starvation by the winter of 2013.
On August 21, 2013, the nerve agent sarin was used to slaughter citizens - including children. It drew worldwide condemnation, with the UN calling it the "most significant confirmed use of chemical weapons against civilians since Saddam Hussein used them".
So with an expensive war on the bloody hands of Syrian fighters, it is claimed they have turned to drugs for funding and relief from the horrors of war, Reuters reported.
Syria is now the number one exporter and producer of the stimulant drug Fenethylline, marketed under the brand name Captagon. Drug experts say the Middle Eastern country has overtaken production from regional players such as Lebanon - who has encountered a 90 per cent drop in production from 2011.
The stimulant drug, created in the 1960s and once used to treat ADHD, is cheap to manufacture and has allegedly been used by government and anti-government forces to fund weapons for the civil war.
There are reports the drug generates hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and consumption by Syrian fighters helps them endure long battles. These claims have not been independently verified, yet experts told Reuters it is highly likely.
State media often documents the seizure of Captagon pills when rebel fighters bases are raided and the Islamic militant group, Hezbollah, which backs Syria's Assad regime, "has a long history of dabbling in the drug trade to help with funding", according a former US Treasury official, Matthew Levitt.
A drug control officer in the city of Homs told Reuters of the effects of the drug on fighters held for questioning: "We would beat them, and they wouldn't feel the pain. Many of them would laugh while we were dealing them heavy blows," he said.
The drug is now seen as a major contributor to the functioning of the Syrian war, as all other economic activities have slowed in the country. The destruction of infrastructure, weakened borders and control by armed forces has turned the war-torn country into the Captagon capital.
Although Syria has long been a transit point for drugs coming from Europe, Turkey and Lebanon and destined for the wealthy Gulf states, the country now finds itself the major producer of Ceptagon, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Not only are Syrian fighters using the pills to stay awake, ordinary citizens have also turned to the drug to endure the every day horrors.
"The use of Captagon and other pills increased after the revolution even among civilians because of psychological and economic pressures," a psychiatrist named George told Reuters.
With effects of Captagon ranging from euphoria, increased energy and lack of appetite, and the drug selling for xx (removed) and xx (removed), it is easy to see why the drug has become popular in bloody, desperate and deadly Syria.
http://www.news.com.au/world/middle...syrian-bloodshed/story-fnh81ifq-1226802434860
