The latest data shows that 71 new types of drugs are being distributed widely. Six of these new drugs remain unregulated by the Health Ministry. Consequently, no legal action can be launched against their abusers.
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Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Heru Winarko (left) and his predecessor Budi Waseso gesture after speaking to journalists on Monday (5/3) at BNN headquarters in Jakarta. Heru said he would take a tough stance on drug abuse and distribution, just like Budi.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The threat of drugs lies not only in the amount being produced and smuggled, but also in the prevalence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in wide circulation. Up to February 2018, 71 of 800 new types of drugs that have been identified around the world have been found circulating in Indonesia.
“There was public outcry over a viral video spread among WhatsApp groups of a person walking and hopping around like a zombie after consuming flakka. Flakka is only one part of the much bigger threat of NPS, all of which have equally harmful effects,” Indonesia Neuroscience Institute executive director Adhi Wibowo Nurhidayat said on Monday (5/3/2018) at his office in Jakarta’s Dr Soeharto Heerdjan mental hospital.
NPS that are being distributed in Indonesia include methylone, synthetic cannabis or “super tobacco”, and flakka, khat and blue safir, which are produced for vaping with electronic cigarettes.
The NPS in worldwide circulation are of more diverse types that are split into nine major categories: synthetic cannabis, synthetic cathinone, ketamine, phencyclidine-type substances, tryptamine, piperazine, plant-based substances, aminoindanes and “other NPS”.
These names may seem strange and foreign, but they have their consumers and obtaining them is not particularly difficult. “The rising trend is through online purchases,” said Adhi, who was once a psychiatrist at the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) rehabilitation center in Lido, Bogor.
Users can access a special website through a mobile phone application. They surf a special browser on a website in the deep web, which is unindexed by search engines.
There, customers can visit an online marketplace selling various types of drugs, including heroin.
Harmful effects
Former BNN chief Comr. Gen. Budi Waseso said that NPS are as dangerous as traditional drugs such as crystal meth. “Flakka is more dangerous than meth and ecstasy. Gorilla tobacco is more dangerous than cannabis,” he said.
According to Adhi, synthetic cannabis, which is also called gorilla tobacco, hanuman, sun go kong, komodo and ganesha, is much more addictive than plant-based marijuana. It makes the abusers more prone to erratic behavior, including paranoia and even aggression toward others.
New NPS are continuously emerging around the world. Data at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that 106 countries and territories have reported the emergence of 739 NPS from 2009 to 2016. Up to the end of 2017, more than 800 NPS had been reported in 110 countries and territories.
Of these NPS substances, 36 percent are reported to be stimulants, 32 percent are synthetic cannabis receptor agonists, 16 percent are classic hallucinogens, 4 percent are opioids, four percent are sedatives, 3 percent are dissociative substances and 5 percent are of unknown characteristics.
BNN data shows that 68 types of NPS were in nationwide circulation at the end of 2017. The head of BNN’s narcotics central lab, Sr. Comr. Kuswardani, said that three additional NPS were discovered in late February, bringing the total number of NPS to 71.
As of now, 9 percent of globally identified NPS have been discovered in Indonesia. That amount may very well increase as time goes by. NPS of the synthetic cannabis variant, known as “super tobacco”, has many derivatives.
One example is the AM-2201, which is derived from MAM-2201. Both the original substance and the derivative form can be used as synthetic cannabis. “There are at least 450 synthetic cannabinoids right now. More may emerge,” said Kuswardani.
Ministerial regulation
In terms of regulations, six of the 71 NPS in Indonesia have yet to be listed as narcotics in Health Minister Regulation No. 58/2017 on Narcotics. When only 68 NPS were known, three were unlisted as narcotics.
The BNN refused to announce the names of these unregulated substances, for fear of encouraging abuse by drug dealers and users. “Without specific regulations, we cannot punish the abusers,” BNN spokesperson Sr. Comr. Sulistyandriatmoko said.
Separately, the Health Ministry stated it would immediately response the rapid development of new types of narcotics by routinely issuing a ministerial regulation on narcotics. “The latest revised regulation on narcotics will be issued soon. It is still being processed,” said the ministry’s director general of pharmacy and medical equipment, Maura Linda Sitanggang.
As for online transactions, newly appointed BNN chief Insp. Gen. Heru Winarko said the BNN and the National Police had established a joint monitoring unit. “This is important. We also have a cyber division working together with the police and other institutions,” he said during the handover ceremony, alongside his predecessor, Budi.
