Cops want party drug labeled ‘dangerous’

Chief drugbuster Deputy Director General Ricardo de Leon called yesterday for the inclusion of party drug "ketamine hydrochloride" in the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) list of controlled drugs so its manufacture and possession would result in heavier penalties.

De Leon, who heads the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF), issued the call following the seizure of $32 million worth of ketamine at a clandestine laboratory in Malate, Manila last week.

Ketamine, known in the street as "K" or "Special K" has started to replace shabu and Ecstasy as the drug of choice among young users because of its tranquilizing effect.

AID-SOTF said, however, that the owner of the seized drugs in Malate has not committed violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law or RA 9165, but merely Section 6 of RA 3720 of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

While the substance is illegal in other countries, the Philippines has yet to include it in the list of dangerous drugs."The only violation we can see here is that the owner was not authorized by BFAD to manufacture ketamine," De Leon said, noting that the maximum penalty against such violators is a jail term of one year and a fine of P1,000.

AID-SOTF filed yesterday violation of BFAD regulations against Chinese national Chen Lim Yong, the tenant of a hotel room where the drugs were found last March 23.

"We have a weak case but what is important is by filing the charges, we educate our youth on the evils of ketamine," De Leon said.

New high

Ketamine was originally created for use as a human anesthetic, and is still used as a general anesthetic for veterinary medicine and for pediatric burn cases.

It is being abused by an increasing number of young people as a "club drug or "love drug" and is often distributed at "raves" and parties. It has sometimes been referred to as a "rape drug."

Ketamine usually comes as a liquid in pharmaceutical bottles, and is most often cooked into a white powder for snorting or made into tablet or capsule form. At lower doses, "K" has a mild, dreamy feeling similar to nitrous oxide. Users report feeling floaty and slightly outside their body. Higher doses produce a hallucinogenic effect, and may cause the user to feel very far away from their body. In Taiwan, ketamine is popular among young people who take the drug to enjoy 30 to 60 minutes of paralysis or hallucinations.

Just like in the ecstasy, the drug user experiences a loss of body weight. The drug costs US$90 to P95 per gram in Taiwan, said Senior Superintendent Rogelio Damazo, AID-SOTF intelligence chief.

Damazo said the drug is also called "God" because users often feel they are meeting their Creator while under the influence of ketamine.

De Leon explained that the manufacture of ketamine is fast becoming a lucrative business for drug syndicates.

And because of the absence of stiff penalties, drug syndicates are now producing ketamine in the Philippines and exporting them to Taiwan and other Asian countries.

Drug lab in hotel

The seized drugs was discovered after hotel management monitored heavy smoke coming out of Room GS-2 of a hotel in Malate which was rented by Chen for 15 days.

The name of the hotel was withheld pending follow-up operations.

When they checked the room, hotel employees were surprised to see a large stainless casserole containing a white substance on top of a gas stove.

Hotel management reported their find to Superintendent Napoleon Taas, intelligence chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), who in turn referred the case to AID-SOTF.

Apart from the drugs, AID-SOTF operatives found inside the room a passport issued to one Kai-Lun Wang. At the parking lot, agents found one Ford Lynx and a Honda Accord, which Chen allegedly uses in his business.

Assistant Secretary Rodolfo Caisip of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) told De Leon that they have no jurisdiction over the case since ketamine does not fall in the category of DDB’s controlled drugs.

It was the second ketamine haul for AID-SOTF.

Last year, AID-SOTF agents also confiscated a large quantity of ketamine in Malate, Manila, but the case against the owners failed to take off in court.

De Leon pointed out that last January, Taiwanese authorities confiscated a shipment of 50 kilos of ketamine suspected to have come from the Philippines. He said they are now collaborating with the Taiwanese police to stop the ketamine traffic between the two countries.