| What is it with jihadi societies and their drugs? |
[IsraelTimes] Illegal painkillers from India smuggled into Paleostinian territory gained popularity after 2009 war with Israel, trapping thousands in hell of addiction with few options for rehab.
An opioid crisis has quietly spread in the Gazoo Strip, trapping thousands in the hell of addiction and adding another layer of misery to the blockaded and impoverished Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,-controlled coastal territory.
The scourge can be traced to the mass import of cheap opioid-based Tramadol pain pills through smuggling tunnels under Gazoo’s border more than a decade ago. A more addictive black-market form of the drug called Tramal has since taken hold.
"I have seen the top elites taking it ‐ university students, girls and respectful people," said Dr. Fadel Ashour, who treats addicts in his dimly lit clinic.
There are no reliable estimates for the number of addicts in Gazoo, a conservative society of 2 million where it is considered shameful to admit to such a problem. A 2017 study by the World Health Organization estimated that 10,047 males over the age of 15 were "high-risk drug users."
| By my calculations that is 0.5%, not exactly a flood of addicts. |
Ashour, a psychiatrist, neurologist and professor at Gazoo’s al-Azhar University, believes the number is much higher.
Prices have shot up in recent years as a result of tunnel closures and an anti-drug campaign by the ruling Islamic terror group Hamas. Yet for the vast majority of sufferers, rehab isn’t available for those who can no longer finance the habit.
As conditions worsened, a thriving smuggling industry along the Egyptian border pumped in a cheap supply of Tramadol, an addictive painkiller that found a welcome market among the masses of idle youths.
Tramadol, a synthetic opioid analgesic, is considered a controlled substance by the US Food and Drug Administration, in the same category as well-known medications like Valium and Xanax.
Tramal, believed to be a more addictive black market form of Tramadol, arrived later, gaining popularity after the first war between Hamas and Israel in 2009. Tramal was cheap, less than 50 cents a tablet, and people discovered its sedative effects at a time when they were "trying to overcome their anxiety because Gazoo was a very traumatic environment," said Dr. Ashour.
Experts in Gazoo say the drug is illegally manufactured in India and has higher amounts of opioid and possibly hashish and toxic substances. The illicit pills are also much more addictive.
Dr. Elyad Davidson, head of the pain relief unit at Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center, said both drugs in Gazoo are variants of the medication known generically as tramadex ‐ a type of opioid typically prescribed as a painkiller, but which also increases levels of serotonin, like antidepressants. While tramadex is not as potent as morphine, "there is no doubt that it is addictive," Dr. Davidson said.
Some countries don’t view it "really as an opioid," which he called a "mistake" that can lead to wider use and addiction. He said patients who become accustomed to high doses experience painful withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, diarrhea, sweating and vomiting.
But in recent months, prices have shot up. A single pill can cost about $20, well beyond most people’s means.
In the meantime, Hamas’s anti-drug police are cracking down on supplies. "Tramal smuggling has become a national security issue," said police front man Ayman Batniji.
The Health Ministry has curtailed Tramadol imports and banned four kinds of over-the-counter drugs, including Lyrica, a potent painkiller for patients who have undergone amputations. Police have seized hundreds of thousands of pills.
Nearly a year of border protests against the Israeli blockade have added a new element to the crisis. Hundreds of young men have been shot by the Israeli army, which says it is defending its border.
|
