PDEA warns of new psychoactive drugs

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Monday warned the public about a new wave of dangerous psychoactive drugs entering the country.

Derrick Arnold Carreon, PDEA spokesman, said they have been monitoring the entry of these chemicals that are being used as party drugs.

“There is a trend we call new psychoactive substances,” he said in an interview over The Chiefs on Cignal TV’s One News.

He cited one chemical — gamma butyrolactone (GBL), a usual component of industrial cleaners for semiconductors — that is being mixed with illegal drugs such as ecstasy.

The problem, according to him, is that the chemical, unlike gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) or liquid ecstasy, is not yet covered by Republic Act 9165 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

“We are moving for its inclusion,” he said.

Carreon said these substances are dangerous as it could lead to death especially if mixed with narcotics.

He cited a recent video of a woman who collapsed in a party, describing the victim as “exhibiting involuntary movements and was incoherent.”

Based on their monitoring, GHB is being sourced by syndicates from the Netherlands and France while GBL is available in online sites such as those in the dark web.

If ingested, the victims could lose all inhibitions and control over themselves for a span of eight to 16 hours, he said.

“When they wake up, they don’t have recollection of what happened,” he added.

Meanwhile, a new drug treatment and rehabilitation center will open in Trece Martires, Cavite by 2020 as part of a partnership between the Department of Health (DOH), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Cavite provincial government. 

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said JICA had provided a grant for the construction of a 500-bed facility that will provide treatment and rehabilitation support to recovering drug dependents.

“They are now in the designing phase.  It’s big so it will take more than a year to construct but by 2019, it will be completed,” he said.

The Consolidated Rehabilitation of Illegal Drug Users (CARE) facility, amounting to Y1.85 billion, will replace the DOH’s rehabilitation in Tagaytay City and would be constructed on a five-hectare lot donated by the provincial government. – With Sheila Crisostomo