Narcotics officers say synthetic drugs emerging in Asia

onomatopoeiaAPR. 03, 2014 - 12:29PM JST Not sure who the 'we' is that you are referring to, but in actuality, methamphetamine was first invented here in Japan and used most extensively by the Kamikaze and Nazi troops during WW2.

Amphetamine and methamphetamine were used by all sides in the second world war. German tankers, US long-range bomber pilots ("pep pills"), Japanese troops...in some respects, WWII was the first "speed war."

As some other people mentioned, the demand drives the market. So, why do people use drugs? I suppose there are as many reasons as there are people.

In the Philippines, drug traffickers have created Fly High, a mixture of pulverized Ecstasy tablet, crystal meth locally known as shabu,

Better not search for a shabu shabu restaurant in the Philippines then.

As some other people mentioned, the demand drives the market. So, why do people use drugs? I suppose there are as many reasons as there are people.

True there's that law of supply and demand. And I'm extremely disturbed why is there such a necessity for that big demand for these kind of substances. If they need it to be able to work long hrs, then they simply need to sleep it out during yasumi hrs. If they need it just to have that akarui stance then they must be a very lonely bunch. Not finding oneself and being in an unsatisfactory environment could be a culprit. If it is then there are other ways of ridding it withou doing drugs. Am working long hrs to help out a family member. If I do drugs to sustain those long hrs, I'd run out of money and where will that bring me? I'm from the Phils, and drug addiction is really a very rampant problem there brought by foreigners esp Chinese. I'm just wondering when will the Chinese people stop longing to be rich to the detriment of others.

@spucky, you may be too young to be aware, but in the 60's - 70's there were also plenty of stimulant type drugs as well. Nothing really new under the sun. And, yes, I also think those should be legalized as well. Then, they could be manufactured within safety standards and labelled with warnings and cautions. As you know, right now there are countless toxins in distribution pretty much everywhere, none of which have any quality control in their manufacturing. The supply is there because the demand is there. Necessity (aka Demand) is the Mother of Invention, it has long been said.

What makes these synthetic drugs such as bath salts so popular and hard to control is because the manufacturers are able to turn these things around so quickly and the end product is far more potent than the originals. The changes in the chemical structure occurs so fast and is chemically similar but it's different and the underlying chemistry highly sophisticated. In most cases the active ingredients in the drugs are compounds originally synthesized by institutional researchers whose scientific publications come from unidentified chemists and neuroscientists working in Asia. While it's conceivable that laws could be adjusted to reflect each new ingredient, it would be impractical because the number of compounds would run in the hundreds representing only one major cannabinoid mimic. In the case of stimulants and dissociative derivatives it would be less numerous but still a compound to compound pursuit would probably take decades. In the end the problem is that chemists and other experts are not able to agree on common standards of chemical similarity. In other words they can't agree on what chemically similar means. You can move a molecule here, move something to the other side of the molecule and while one chemist might think it's analogue, another chemist might disagree. Thus the scientific community cannot agree on what analogue essential means and that is the crux of the problem. Therefore the war on drugs continues with a new front and unfortunately it does appears to be a losing one.

@ John Galt, THC/ Weed is not the Drug of choice for this Generation of Drug User, because of the effects! The Drug User of 2014 want something big, fast acting and long lasting, they look for Energy.

A very good reason that the natural and healthy herb cannabis should be not only decriminalized but fully legalized from cultivation to consumption for private use.

DEA is just another way that the US seeks to be the world policeman. They should stick to trying to win their "war on drugs" at home. Or better yet admit defeat and disband. Then there wouldn't be "trafficking".

Not sure who the 'we' is that you are referring to, but in actuality, methamphetamine was first invented here in Japan and used most extensively by the Kamikaze and Nazi troops during WW2.

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crystalmeth/history-of-methamphetamine.html

http://science.howstuffworks.com/meth2.htm

But I do agree with you that the hard stance/sanctions are not working. The Kim clique is perpetrating genocide against its own people. War on the Korean peninsula is inevitable.

@onomatopoeia

Japan Today happens to be a newspaper, by the way. So your sarcasm seems kinda silly. But thank you for the links. I have read several now.

One thing, I noted was that most of the articles say the information is skeptical because really, how do we know what is really happening in NK? You would also notice that since the 1990s, NK has had to open a black market for all sorts of goods because it has no international trade (sanctions). So while you and I may be critical of NK for trading in illegal drugs, it isn't hard to see why they have chosen to continue with it.

I will get a lot of bad votes for not just condemning NK as most will. That's fine. And I will say again that I do not support the current regime there. But I do question the hard stance / sanctions the U.S and other countries have taken against NK. Doesn't seem to be working. And you could easily argure that the Meth produced there is something we created.

The tragedy of North Korea's drug cartel and methademic is mainstream news worldwide. Pick up a newspaper now and then, whydon'tya?

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/timstanley/100208346/north-korea-is-running-a-drug-ring-and-kim-jong-un-is-its-bond-style-mr-big/

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-23767363

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/21/how-north-korea-got-itself-hooked-on-meth/

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/27/world/la-fg-north-korea-meth-20140127

http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/crystal-meth-north-koreas-state-secret/

Well they wouldn't have to make a living by producing drugs if they would stop acting so crazy.

Where do you get your information about NK? And not saying that I support their government or drugs in any way, but how else are they gonna make money? Sanctioned and impoverished countries around the world turn to the lucrative drug trade when other means don't produce as much income. I'm sure in their eyes they are just trying to make a living.

Why no mention here that North Korea is the main manufacturer and trafficker of illegal synthetic drugs in Asia? Now that they already have the world's largest arsenal of chemical weapons, many of those laboratories and factories are being converted to drug cooking. The population of North Korea is reputed to also have the biggest abuse epidemic for these drugs as well. Not sure why the reporter chose to leave out this important information.

This is disheartening news of course. I don't understand how some drugs which are so blatantly destructive still catch on. Krokodil comes to mind, how can something that ROTS your skin and muscle tissue even be appealing? One of the things I like most about Japans laws is its strictness of it's anti-drug enforcement.