PDEA Bares 7 New Dangerous Drugs

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) issued a warning to the public on the inclusion of seven additional substances in the list of dangerous drugs based on the recommendations of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).

PDEA Director General Isidro S. Lapeña cited the various decisions of the CND during its 59th Session classifying the following substances with the appropriate controls as provided in the Schedules of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971:

a.    ACETYLFENTANYL – is a powerful painkiller which is five times more potent than heroin. It is disguised as oxycodone. Manifestations of overdose are lethargic look, disoriented, shallow breathing, a slow heart rate and low blood pressure;

b.    MT-45 – is a piperazine derivative with potent analgesic activity comparable to morphine;

c.    PARA-METHOXYMETHYLAMPHETAMINE (PMMA) – it is a stimulant and psychedelic recreational drug which may be used as substitute to ecstasy. It has hallucinogenic effect and can cause fatal rise in temperature;

d.    Alpha-PYRROLIDINOVALEROPHENONE (a-PVP) – it is a psychomotor stimulant which may cause cardiotoxicity, violent behavior and display of psychotic behavior;

e.    Para-METHYLAMINOREX (4,4′-DMAR) – it is a synthetic stimulant designer drug related to 4-methylaminorex and pemoline. It is a new and potentially lethal designer drug;

f.     METHOXETAMINE (MXE) – is a new recreational drug, structural analog of ketamine with potent hallucinogenic properties; and

g.    PHENAZEPAM – it is a benzodiazepine with anxiolytic, euphoric, anti-convulsant, amnestic, muscle relaxant, and hypnotic (sleep-inducing) effects.

“Based on the foregoing recommendations, PDEA as the lead anti-drug agency in partnership with the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Customs (BOC) and other instrumentalities in the field of drug law enforcement, will include these substances in the regulatory monitoring of license registration, and import/export permit authorization and will arrest those possessing these new dangerous drugs,” Lapeña said. (PDEA)