PSA: Captagon considered harmful

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Turkey-seizes-11-million-pills-of-Syria-war-drug-reports/articleshow/49860478.cms

Grams doesn't show captagon offered on any market, but there are tens of millions of pills of it floating around the Mideast, and I have no doubt it will show up on DNM sometime.

tl;dr I advise not to buy it. Risks seem greater than any possible benefit.

Captagon is a synthetic drug that the body metabolizes into an amphetamine and theophylline. The problem here is the combination. Theophylline is a methylxanthine, similar to caffeine. It has been prescribed for decades by doctors for asthma and COPD, but it has always caused problems, because it has a narrow therapeutic index, i.e., the level at which the drug is medically effective is just slightly below the level at which it is toxic. And the toxicity of theophylline is pretty bad, including arrhythmias and seizures. Arrhythmia means abnormal heartbeat: too fast, irregular, or both. Theophylline toxicity can be lethal. Luckily, safer drugs have been found, and theophylline is slowly disappearing from use.

Theophylline has no recreational value, btw.

The problem here is that Captagon combines theophylline and an amphetamine, and guess what, amphetamines also cause arrhythmias if overused. Combining two pro-arrhythmic drugs sounds like a really bad idea to me.

So. If you want an amphetamine, buy amphetamine. If you want a methylxanthine, drink coffee. Even do both. You can control your methylxanthine intake by not drinking too much coffee. But if you take captagon, you get a fixed dose of a theophylline with every dose of amphetamine. Take more, and inevitably you will hit theophylline toxicity. Such a bad idea.

I advise staying away from this drug. it sounds high-risk, low-benefit to me.


Comments


[16 Points] None:

[deleted]


[13 Points] GrandWizardsLair:

ATGWUI, the only reason Captagon is big in the Middle East is they can't get their hands on better stimulants. They also abuse trihexyphenidyl (Artane), an Antiparkinsons drug which has anticholinergic and antimuscarinic activity. (Because nothing says Fun Times like a scopalamine/amanita mushroom cocktail!)


[3 Points] Abraxer:

This isn't gonna take off in a land of perscription ADHD meds, meth and amphetamines lmao.

Like this is a substance used for war and killing, not really for recreation lmao.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/turkey-seizes-11-million-captagon-amphetamine-pills-used-by-isis-fighters-to-keep-themselves-awake-a6744366.html


[2 Points] heyfreshhhhh:

I highly doubt anyone who has access and orders via DNMs would take this garbage.


[2 Points] MakeYourMarks:

Any idea what the value per mg of these pills are? This article says $20, but it doesn't offer a miligram dosage. If 11 million of these were seized and they are worth $20 each, that's $220 million dollars of drugs seized, quite significant.


[1 Points] K1Ll3rWh4l3z:

Thx for the info m8


[1 Points] deguppyusel:

Not to mention the negative press it could get if it started being sold and some kid ODs on it.


[1 Points] morebeansplease:

Thank you OP, you have more effectively communicated concerns about the safety of Captogan than the United States Food and Drug Agency.

lol, why the fuck do we even pay for the FDA?

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Protecting and Promoting Your Health


[1 Points] upsidetheskull:

Fucking great; won't be long before we start reading stories about bunk "adderal".


[1 Points] Golden-Era:

Isn't amphetamine a precursor for this? Why would they go through the trouble when they could just have amphetamine salts?


[1 Points] roionsteroids:

100% of "captagon" pills analyzed in recent years didn't contain any captagon.

Besides, it's a prodrug for amphetamine and something caffeine like.

About as harmful as lisdexamph (vyvanse) if legit lol.


[-1 Points] None:

reminds me of the south park where they get everyone drunk and restart the civil war... hopefully those assholes in raqqa will sober up and kill themselves.

edit: why the fuck was this downvoted?