Flakka is a synthetic psychoactive drug that generally contains cathinone compounds that come from the tranquilizer medicine or sedative known as zylazine.
Flakka is one of the new psychoactive substances that is dangerous for the human body, Golose stated after opening the Smash On Drugs (SOD) International Table Tennis Championship 2023 here, Saturday.
The impact of flakka can be seen in Philadelphia, the United States, where the use of illicit substances has turned several of its users into directionless zombies, who spend their time daydreaming and even become unconscious.
While flakka has not been detected in Indonesia, Golose still urged all parties to watch out for potential distribution of the drug.
Meanwhile, Golose noted that the most widely circulated new type of narcotics in Indonesia that also targets the lower class is synthetic tobacco, or known as gorilla tobacco.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), a UN agency that specifically deals with narcotics crimes, gorilla tobacco is a synthetic cannabinoid shaped like a white, grey, and also yellowish-brown crystalline powder.
In general, the synthetic cannabinoid is soluble in organic solvents, such as methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, and acetone.
Hence, after being made into solvent form, it can easily be sprayed onto other materials, such as herbal leaves, including tobacco.
According to Golose, the BNN had recorded that of the 1,150 types of narcotics existing in the world, 91 of them are circulating in Indonesia.
The use of dozens of these narcotics had already been regulated in Minister of Health Regulation No. 5 of 2020, though the others have not been officially regulated by the government.
He then called on the public to steer clear of using any types of drugs to prevent them from becoming trapped in drug addiction that can endanger their health.
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Translator: Rolandus Nampu, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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