PDEA warns vs use of 7 deadly new drugs

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Friday issued a warning to the public against the use of seven new types of dangerous drugs.

The addition of substances on the list was based on the recommendations of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).

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PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña, in a statement, said the anti-narcotics agency, along with the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau of Customs (BOC), will arrest those possessing the following deadly drugs:

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

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

3.    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 body temperature;

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

5.   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;

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

7. 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 PNP, NBI, BOC and other instrumentalities in the field of drug law enforcement, will include these substances in the regulatory monitoring of license registration, and import and export permit authorization and will arrest those possessing these new dangerous drugs,” Lapeña said. CDG/rga

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