#82 What is Captagon?

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Your faithful writer,
Dr. Daniel Smith

There is a new drug that is playing a major part in conflicts in the Middle East, from the decade-long civil war in Syria to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

It was found in the pockets of Hamas fighters who attacked Israel on October 7, and it’s widely used by militants and civilians alike throughout the region.

It’s a stimulant called captagon. And experts estimate that the global captagon trade is worth ~$10 billion.

Also known as the “jihadi drug” and “poor man’s cocaine,” captagon production and use has grown dramatically in recent years.

One Syrian manufacturer described the potential effects of a high dosage:

History: Captagon (officially named Fenethylline) was developed in the 1960s to treat attention deficit disorders and narcolepsy.

It contains amphetamines (the primary ingredient in Adderall) and is frequently laced with methamphetamine (better known as crystal meth) as well.

It was banned by most countries in 1986 due to its high potential for abuse.

Today, the drug is used throughout the Middle East by millions of people.

Most of it is produced in Syria and Lebanon before it’s smuggled into other nearby countries.

Like Adderall in the U.S, many people in the Middle East — particularly in Saudi Arabia — use it to help them study or to focus at work.

Other people use it as a party drug.

One user described the euphoria he felt while taking captagon:

The “jihadi drug” also became popular among ISIS and other Islamist militias in the region over the last decade.

Fighters reportedly use the drug to stay alert during long battles and to dull fear and pain.

A Syrian drug control officer said that the drug would make it so that people didn't feel pain:

Most people around the world first heard about captagon in the mid-2010s, when journalists began reporting on captagon production in Syria.

The Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad has been fighting a war against ISIS, other Islamist militias, and Kurdish separatist groups since 2011.

During that time, allies of Assad’s government began producing and exporting captagon on an industrial scale.

Syria now produces 80% of the world’s captagon, exporting the drug throughout the region.

Lebanon has also gotten involved in the captagon trade, especially since the 2020 Beirut port explosion devastated Lebanon’s economy.

A Washington D.C.-based think tank said that "affiliates of the Syrian government" collaborate “with a broad range of criminal networks, militant groups, mafia syndicates, and autocratic governments” to export captagon throughout the Middle East.

International Response and Challenges

Law enforcement agencies worldwide have increased efforts to intercept shipments of captagon, often uncovering massive hauls hidden in everything from produce to industrial equipment.

Last year, police in Dubai discovered a 13-ton shipment of captagon worth over $1B hidden inside imported furniture.

Some have argued that Syria has become a “narco-state” due to its pivotal role in the captagon trade.

The U.S. government even sanctioned Bashar al-Assad's younger brother for his involvement in industrial captagon production in Syria last year.

Two years ago, President Joe Biden signed the Countering Assad’s Proliferation Trafficking And Garnering Of Narcotics Act (or the CAPTAGON Act) that identified Syria's captagon trade as a “transnational security threat.”

However, the decentralized nature of production and the involvement of multiple criminal networks make it difficult to shut down captagon production.

The most likely scenario is that the captagon trade will continue to grow. And like any growing industry, it will look for new markets to expand into.

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Yours,
Dan