Cheap, easy-to-make amphetamine pill fueling Syria civil war by keeping ISIS fighters alert for days
This amphetamine pill helps ISIS fighters stay alert and on their feet for days at a time during long, grueling battles. Called Captagon The highly addictive drugs are easy-to-make and are widely available They help extremists stay alert for days on end during long gun battles Trade of the drug is thought to provide cash for weapons and ammunition
The small tablets of the highly addictive substance Captagon are produced in Syria and is widely available across the Middle East.
It is thought that the trade of the drugs brings in millions of dollars in revenue to Syria, providing funding for weapons and ammunition.
The drug was first produced in the West in the 1960s to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression, but by the 1980s was banned in most countries because of its addictive properties and no longer has a legitimate medical use.
Its active ingredient, fenethylline, is metabolised by the body into the stimulants amphetamine and theophylline.
Lebanese psychiatrist Ramzi Haddad says the drug has the typical effects of a stimulant.
He explained: 'It gives you a kind of euphoria. You're talkative, you don't sleep, you don't eat, you're energetic.
Production is cheap and simple, requiring only basic knowledge of chemistry and a few scales.'
Syrian state media regularly mention Captagon pills, which sell for between $5 and $20, as one of the items government forces seize alongside weapons when they capture rebel fighters or raid their bases.
A drug control officer in the central city of Homs said he had observed the effects of Captagon on protesters and fighters held for questioning.
He told Reuters news agency: 'We would beat them, and they wouldn't feel the pain. Many of them would laugh while we were dealing them heavy blows.
dailymail.co.uk
