Drugbusters seek to expand list of banned substances

Chief drugbuster Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay will ask Congress to include ketamine hydrochloride or "Special K" in the list of banned substances under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act 2002.

Aglipay’s move came amid reports that Special K has become popular among young drug users from rich families.

Aglipay said he will also ask the crime laboratory of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to issue a certification so Special K is included in the list of dangerous drugs under RA 9165.

"We will then ask the next Congress to include Special K in the list of banned substance because we have monitored young people using it during parties and in nightspots," he said in an interview.

Aglipay is the head of the police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF).

He said Special K was introduced into the local market by drug syndicates after his men were able to neutralize the operation of 19 shabu laboratories and confiscated P19 billion worth of shabu and raw materials and equipment.

Joint elements of the AID-SOTF, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and other law enforcement agencies also made a big dent in the campaign against Ecstasy.

"Because of the scarcity of shabu and Ecstasy supplies, drug syndicates introduced Special K, which is now attracting the attention of drug users," said Aglipay.

Special K is available in powder and tablet form.

An AID-SOTF official said a Special K tablet costs P1,000 while Ecstasy can be bought at P1,500 per tablet and shabu at P2,500 per gram.

PDEA director Anselmo Avenido said he encountered Special K for the first time during a raid last December in Makati City.

However, Avenido had no recourse but to release the owner of the seized drugs because of the crime laboratory’s certification that it is not included in the list of banned substances under RA 9165.

Right now, Aglipay said, police and other law enforcement agencies can still confiscate imported Special K for violation of the rules and regulations of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

"What we can do as this time is to seize Special K tablets, but we cannot file a case against persons possessing them until the next Congress acts favorably on our request," said Aglipay.

Special K is now banned in the United States.

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) described Special K as a powerful hallucinogen widely used by veterinarians as an animal tranquilizer.

Also known as "K hole," the user suffers visual distortions and loses all sense of time and identity.

The "high" can last from half an hour to two hours. Special K in powder form can be snorted or sprinkled with tobacco or marijuana and smoked. It can be used in combination with other drugs, such as Ecstasy, heroin or cocaine.

Liquid ketamine was developed in the early 1980s as an anesthetic for surgery, and was used in the Vietnam war as an anesthetic.

Powdered ketamine emerged as a recreational drug in the 1970s, and was known as "Vitamin K" in the 1980s. It resurfaced in the 1990s rave scene as Special K.

The USDEA said the use of Special K can result in delirium, amnesia, impaired motor functions and potentially fatal respiratory problems.