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View all search resultsBNN calls for full vape ban over drug abuse risk
The narcotics agency found some liquids for e-cigarette laced with narcotics, such as methamphetamine and etomidate, which is classified as a new psychotic substance.
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A man uses a vape, or e-cigarette, on June 10, 2024, in Jakarta. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
T
he National Narcotics Agency (BNN) has urged regulators to outlaw the distribution of e-cigarettes and vaporizers following the recent finding of illegal substances contained in the electronic devices.
Of the total of 341 e-cigarette liquid samples tested over the past few months, at least 11 were found to contain synthetic cannabinoids, or chemical compounds that are usually found in cannabis, according to BNN head Comr. Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto. The agency also found 23 samples to contain etomidate and one other was laced with methamphetamine.
“These findings indicate that vaping liquids have been injected with class-I and II narcotics, which have extraordinarily damaging effects on the central nervous system,” Suyudi said at a discussion held by the narcotics agency in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to regulations, class-1 narcotics are prohibited for wide public consumption and can only be used for science and research purposes because of their very high likelihood to cause addiction. Meanwhile, class-2 narcotics can be used as last-resort drugs under heavy supervision from a physician because of their addictive properties.
At a raid on a clandestine narcotics laboratory at an apartment in South Jakarta on Jan. 16, BNN officers found 5 liters of etomidate liquid in a wine bottle suspected to be injected into vaping liquid cartridges.
Categorized as a class-II narcotic, etomidate is an anesthetic drug typically administered intravenously for short medical procedures and has the same effect as ketamine, another anesthetic that has some dissociative and psychedelic effects.
“The more dangerous thing is dealers are injecting narcotics and other substances into new, unopened vape liquids,” said the three-star police general.
