KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — News about vapes laced with illicit drugs and allegations that they’re being openly sold to minors have fuelled panic among some parents, leading some to call for tighter regulation, or even a total ban on the sales of electronic smoking devices.
What drugs are smoked using these devices are still very much speculation, but one of the most cited is a flavour called “magic mushroom”, which is reported to have caused the user to hallucinate and act aggressive.
Media reported that the flavour, which comes in liquid form that can be evaporated using the e-smoking devices, are also sold openly by peddlers through popular messaging applications like Telegram and WhatsApp or social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok.
In Singapore, its Health Sciences Authority and Central Narcotics Bureau have raised alarms over so-called “Kpods”, or drug-laced vapes, which they said have increased in popularity among youths.
First, is the rumour true?
Yes, it’s widely known that vapes can be used to consume illicit drugs. What is being smoked using vapes, however, remains largely unknown which makes it the subject of so much misinformation that experts said can be easily manipulated, or worse, cause more harm.
The National Security Council just last August claimed there has been an increase in the use of drug-laced vapes but did not provide any statistical data.
It did, however, reveal testing results conducted by the National Poison Centre, which has a dedicated department that breaks down illicit drugs to identify its components.
What are these drugs then?
Primarily synthetic drugs like ketamine, phencyclidine (PCP or in the West known as angel dust) and even synthetic cannabinoid, known in the local street term “pedon”.
The flavour “magic mushroom” instead contains no organic properties like psilocybin, which experts agree is far safer than the drugs listed above. Psilocybin, or MDMA, has been experimented for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression treatment, although its efficacy is still being debated.
Synthetic, or popularly labelled as designer drugs, on the other hand are known to be very dangerous, even lethal. Testing showed that one of the primary contents of the “mushroom” flavoured vape liquid is PCP, a dissociative anaesthetic known for its hallucinogenic effects and potential for causing severe psychological disturbances.
Synthetic drugs are more dangerous because they are designed with the purpose of being extremely potent, and with that raising the risk of dependency.
The fentanyl crisis in the US exemplifies this best. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used as a pain relief for chronic pain that is 50 times stronger than poppy-based heroin. Before it was regulated, pharmaceutical companies exploited loopholes in the law so hospitals and clinics could liberally prescribe the opioid, and suppress information about its risks.
Is there a growing trend towards using synthetic drugs in vapes?
Preference for designer drugs has been on the rise over the last two decades at least, according to enforcement agencies and treatment experts.
Data from the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) suggested over 70 per cent of some 170,000 persons arrested for drug use as of September this year were caught with synthetic drugs.
The agency was not clear as to the percentage of those said to have grown addicted to this so-called “mushroom” flavoured vape, even as it claims the number of use is “on the rise” among minors. AADK did not respond to Malay Mail’s request for comment at the time of writing.
The sale of drugs meant to be used with electronic cigarettes, however, is widespread. A simple check on the internet will lead a buyer to platforms like Facebook or Telegram, where peddlers market them complete with catalogues that detail out prices and dosages.
What’s driving this shift towards synthetic drugs?
Treatment and drug policy experts cited two possible reasons: criminalisation of drug use and accessibility.
Dr Mohd Fadzli Mohd Isa, an addiction psychiatry specialist, said there is a notable increase in cases of psychiatric disturbances linked to synthetic drug use through vapes in the last one or two years, and he felt one of the factors driving this could be the need to avoid arrests and detection.
“It could be that criminalising drug use would make first time users prefer to dabble with drugs that may help them avoid detection and arrests. But it could also be the evolution of synthetic drug production, and that it coincides with the prevalence of an instrument (vape) that makes it easier to consume these synthetic drugs,” he said.
Currently, the sale of e-cigarette is loosely regulated. The law prohibits the sale of vapers to minors but is liberal about who can sell it. Dr Mohd Fadzli, an advocate for the decriminalisation of drug use attached with the Ministry of Health, said the rule for the sale of vapers needs to be tightened.
