New Types of Drugs Continue to Emerge

The latest data shows that 71 new types of drugs are being distributed widely. Six of these new drugs remain unregulated by the Health Ministry. Consequently, no legal action can be launched against their abusers.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

National Narcotics Agency (BNN) head Heru Winarko (left) and his predecessor Budi Waseso gesture after speaking to journalists on Monday (5/3) at BNN headquarters in Jakarta. Heru said he would take a tough stance on drug abuse and distribution, just like Budi.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The threat of drugs lies not only in the amount being produced and smuggled, but also in the prevalence of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in wide circulation. Up to February 2018, 71 of 800 new types of drugs that have been identified around the world have been found circulating in Indonesia.

“There was public outcry over a viral video spread among WhatsApp groups of a person walking and hopping around like a zombie after consuming flakka. Flakka is only one part of the much bigger threat of NPS, all of which have equally harmful effects,” Indonesia Neuroscience Institute executive director Adhi Wibowo Nurhidayat said on Monday (5/3/2018) at his office in Jakarta’s Dr Soeharto Heerdjan mental hospital.