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Arabia
Saudi tops in abuse of stimulants in Gulf
2008-07-03
JEDDAH - Saudi Arabia is the number one abuser of stimulants in the region despite the warning on Saudi Customs forms that drug traffickers are given the death penalty, according to a new report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Based on a ruling by the Supreme Ulema, drug smugglers and those who receive and distribute drugs from abroad, if caught, would receive the death penalty.

The UNODC report, which uses words like ‘unprecedented’ and ‘dramatic increase’ to describe the abuse of stimulants in the Kingdom, said stimulants from Bulgaria and Turkey are being trucked through Syria and Jordan and distributed throughout the Gulf region. “More illegal amphetamines are being seized in the Gulf than in the United States, China and Britain combined,” says the 303-page report released last week. It adds that Captagon pills - a mixture of the stimulants fenethylline and caffeine - are available for only a few riyals on the streets of Jeddah, Manama and Doha.

The UNODC report documents how Captagon seizures mushroomed from 291 kgs in 2000 to 12.3 tons in 2006, and reveals how young Saudis and Arabs fall prey to drugs and addiction.
That's 12.3 metric tons for a population of 28 million people.
Captagon was originally prescribed for treating severe conditions such as depression and narcolepsy. The 30mg tablets have become a craze among the GulfÂ’s sizeable population of teenagers and adults aged 20-25, offering users a sensation of self-confidence that eventually leads to addiction and paranoia. Boys tend to take the drug for its stimulating effect while girls are using it as a combination stimulant/weight loss supplement. Both sexes use the drug to stay awake as they study for final exams or for recreation at social gatherings.

Omani officials have also confiscated two tons of illegal stimulants recently, while smaller shipments were seized in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.
Posted by:Steve White

#8  Btw, no way this whole traffik isn't managed by at least part of the saudi elites, which means of course the princes and the Holy Men; also, saudis are propbably involved in the transnational drug trade at a high level, there was a book published by a french journalist about a very troubling case that was basically covered by french "top secret" (secret-defense) gag-order, of a columbian cocaine drug bust that led to a private jet being seized on a french airport with a VERY large quantity of cocaine (in the 100s of kilograms), and it turned out the plane was the property of a saudi prince. Since the french defense industry is so dependent on Gulf contracts, there was pressure to keep it quiet, and so it was done. The thesis of the writer, based on his investigation, was IIRC that it was not a private venture by a lone royal, but that the saudis were using drug money to finance Jihad/Dawa/intelligence in the West. Sounds credible, despite the flopws of petro$.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2008-07-03 13:26  

#7  IIUC, heroin abuse is widespread (way more than in the decadent West, proportionally speaking, just as iran or pakistan, though those two are nearer to the production areas), and alcohol is also used, and not only in expatriate gated communities/ghettoes.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2008-07-03 13:20  

#6  How about tampering with a shipment or two? Sterilization drug to just a heart stopper - come to think of it, that's not a bad idea for our own consumers.
Posted by: Rob06   2008-07-03 12:51  

#5  The 30mg tablets have become a craze among the GulfÂ’s sizeable population of teenagers and adults aged 20-25, offering users a sensation of self-confidence that eventually leads to addiction and paranoia.

Given their state ideology and oil tick livelihood, how would anyone know the difference?
Posted by: Excalibur   2008-07-03 12:10  

#4  The 30mg tablets have become a craze among the GulfÂ’s sizeable population of teenagers and adults aged 20-25, offering users a sensation of self-confidence that eventually leads to addiction and paranoia.

I think they are giving the drug WAY too much credit.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2008-07-03 10:40  

#3  I think that explains a lot!!!

Maybe those nutjobs are actually drug addled?

We all know what was seized is only a small percentage of what is coming into the country.

This really, once you think about it, comes as no surprise.
Posted by: James Carville   2008-07-03 10:10  

#2  What this shows is the utter futility of the war on drugs. If we can't keep them out of the prisons, if the Sauds cant keep them out of their prison, you aren't going to stop it. It should be legalized, regulated and taxed. Resale to minors should be made a three strikes capital offence for any age, down to 12; first strike, probation/counseling; second strike, hard time; third strike, enough drugs to last the rest of your brief life. Quit wasting money on Prohibition.
Posted by: Punky Ebbique 4-5789   2008-07-03 09:07  

#1  Moslems on speed...sweeeeet.
Posted by: imoyaro   2008-07-03 01:14  

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