Captagon:
The trial of four men accused of being behind a record-breaking Captagon drug bust worth €58 million has begun in Germany.
- Captagon is a highly addictive amphetamine-type drug, which is produced mainly in Syria.
- The original Captagon contained fenethylline, a synthetic drug of the phenethylamine family to which amphetamine also belongs.
- It was commercially sold in several countries until the 1980s and was banned due to fears of its highly addictive nature.
- It is commonly known as “poor man’s cocaine,” has emerged as the drug of choice among young adults throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
- It is a synthetic drug which was originally manufactured in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s where it was intended to treat attention deficit disorders.
- The pill contains fenethylline, a synthetic amphetamine, caffeine, and other stimulants.
- Fenethylline is metabolized by the body into two molecules: amphetamine and theophylline, both of which are stimulants.
- It was made illegal in 1986 in most countries and discontinued in medical markets.
- It has become a major concern for countries in the Middle East like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
