MANILA, Philippines — Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as “ecstasy” and methamphetamine, more popularly known in the Philippines as shabu, now rank as the world’s second most widely abused drug type after cannabis, the latest report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed.
The same report named China, Myanmar, and the Philippines as the major amphetamine manufacturing countries in Asia.
The largest number of methamphetamine laboratories was also reported in China followed by Malaysia and the Philippines.
In recent years, heroin and cocaine have attracted the most attention. However, according to the 2011 Global ATS Assessment, rapidly rising ATS seizure figures and the discovery of clandestine ATS laboratories are causing growing concern, including in the Philippines.
Between 2005 and 2009, the report disclosed that the number of ATS seizures worldwide (with the exception of “ecstasy”, the number of seizures of which remained constant) rose considerably, while the number of seizures of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis all remained largely stable.
In East and South-East Asia, the number of ATS laboratories shut down soared from 288 in 2008 to 458 in 2009, while the number of methamphetamine pills seized in South-East Asia leaped from 32 million in 2008 to 133 million in 2010.
In the Philippines, based on the UNODC report, crystalline methamphetamine, or shabu, has been the most commonly used drug for the past two decades and significant illicit methamphetamine manufacture and trafficking continue to occur.
In 2009, crystalline methamphetamine users accounted for 62 percent of all drug users in the country and, since 2004, they have accounted for almost 63 percent of persons receiving drug treatment.
Since 2008, the report noted that about two-thirds of all drug-related arrests in the country have been related to crystalline methamphetamine. However, there is no reported use of methamphetamine pills in the Philippines.
In major cities, such as Manila and Cebu, the use of ecstasy is becoming increasingly popular among young nightclub goers, the report said.
Ecstasy use, however, remains limited due to the high price and low availability. The use of synthetic substances, such as Benzylpiperazine (BZP), or “mimic ecstasy”, has also been noted.
The report disclosed that illicit crystalline methamphetamine manufacture in the Philippines was first reported in 1996, and in 1997, the first industrial-scale clandestine manufacturing facility was dismantled.
From 2002 to 2010, a total of 72 clandestine crystalline methamphetamine laboratories were dismantled by drug law enforcement authorities.
Over the past few years, however, methamphetamine manufacture has shifted from large and medium-sized facilities to smaller “kitchen type” laboratories in metropolitan areas and has been characterized by the manufacture of increasingly higher purity methamphetamine.
Domestically manufactured methamphetamine is also trafficked to countries in the region such as Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand as well as to countries outside the region.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that nine transnational criminal groups and 85 local groups are involved in drug manufacturing and trafficking in the country. Methamphetamine is also trafficked into the country from China, primarily by maritime vessels.
The manufacturing and use of ATS is an issue which affects all regions of the world, the UNDOC report said as it pointed out that the expansion of illicit trade in such substances and the high profits generated by that trade pose an increasing threat to security and health worldwide.
In Europe, several countries have reported increases in the use and production of methamphetamine, while the discovery of clandestine laboratories in West Africa indicate that that sub-region is also being drawn into the trade in ATS.
Manufacture is also increasingly being reported by authorities in Central and South America, and in South-East Asia there has been an increase in the number of countries reporting the manufacture of ATS.
Owing to their affordability and the relative ease with which they are manufactured, ATS are attractive drugs of choice for millions of drug abusers in all regions of the world.
The drugs also offer criminals entry into unexploited and fresh markets, and unlike plant-based drugs, can be manufactured anywhere in the world with little initial investment required on the part of criminals.
The Assessment also addresses the rise of new stimulant drugs. In addition to amphetamines and ecstasy, established ATS markets have also seen the emergence of so-called analogue substances which fall outside international control.
Substances such as mephedrone or methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) are sold as “bath salts” or “plant food” and act as substitutes for illicit stimulant drugs such as cocaine. Such substances are sold over the Internet and some have been associated with fatalities.
Another emerging concern that the Assessment raises is the intravenous use of ATS. That trend, with its widespread health implications (particularly given its links to the spread of HIV, has been observed most frequently in East and South-East Asia and in parts of Western and Eastern Europe.
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By: Roy C. Mabasa
Source: Manila Bulletin, Sept. 16, 2011
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