Captagon

About Captagon: 

• It is a highly addictive amphetamine-type drug, which is produced mainly in Syria.
• The original Captagon contained fenetylline, 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.
• Concern: It has become a major concern for countries in the Middle East like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Q1) What is a synthetic drug?

It is a drug with properties and effects similar to a known hallucinogen or narcotic but having a slightly altered chemical structure, especially such a drug created in order to evade restrictions against illegal substances.

Source: What is the drug Captagon, and how is it linked to Germany?