Pubdate: Fri, 01 Apr 2005 Source: Philippine Star (Philippines) Copyright: PhilSTAR Daily Inc. 2005 Contact: http://www.philstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/622 Author: Christina Mendez Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hallucinogens.htm (Hallucinogens) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Philippines BIAZON SEEKS DRUG LAW AMENDMENTS An administration lawmaker proposed amendments yesterday to Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, in a bid to stop the proliferation and use of uncontrolled substances or medical drugs as "replacement" for illegal drugs shabu and ecstasy. Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, recommended through Senate Bill 1962 that the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) be allowed to classify certain medical drugs and add them to the list of controlled precursors and chemicals. Biazon lamented that the owner of $32 million worth of the anesthetic ketamine discovered at a laboratory in Malate, Manila could not be found in violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law because ketamine does not fall in the category of the Dangerous Drugs Board's list of controlled drugs. The senator issued the statement after Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF) chief Deputy Director General Ricardo de Leon called for the inclusion of the party drug ketamine hydrochloride in the DDB list of controlled drugs so its manufacture and possession would result in stiffer penalties. Individuals engaged in the distribution, manufacture and unauthorized sale of the so-called "love drug" should also be penalized, Biazon said. "Because of the absence of stiff penalties, drug syndicates are now producing ketamine in the Philippines in huge quantities and exporting them to Taiwan and other Asian countries. The drug costs US$90 to $95 per gram in Taiwan and up to $100 in the US, more lucrative than shabu," the senator said. 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. The drug usually comes as a liquid in pharmaceutical bottles, and is often baked into a white powder for snorting or made into a tablet or capsule form. Ketamine, also known as K, Vitamin K or Special K, has started to replace shabu and ecstasy as the drug of choice among young users at parties because of its tranquilizing effect. At lower doses, the drug gives a mild dreamy feeling. Users report feeling "floaty" and slightly outside their body. Higher dosage may make users feel a hallucinogenic effect with a feeling of being far away from their body. - ---