Drug Scenario in the Philippines

DRUG SCENARIO IN THE PHILIPPINES The following are the reasons for the successful decline of drug abuse in the country:  Operations conducted by different law enforcing agencies like the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Customs and other law enforcers have helped arrest local and international drug syndicate members, traffickers, and destroy secret laboratories and warehouses.  Strict implementation of policies under the “Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002” like the compulsory drug test for application of driver’s license, entrance to military service, application for firearms licensing, and others.  Actualization of the Dangerous Drugs Board’s programs and projects in partnership with other agencies like the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other local government units (LGU) and non-government organizations (NGO).

The state department also disclosed that 2.1 percent of Filipinos aged 16 to 64 were using shabu, and “domestic consumption of methamphetamine and marijuana continued to be the main drug threats in the Philippines.” Citing Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency records, it reported that last year PDEA “conducted 9,850 anti-illegal drug operations resulting in the arrest of 8,491 suspects and 9,995 cases being filed.” Philippine authorities “seized 250 kilos of methamphetamine valued at $68 million (about P2.92 billion); 4.8 million marijuana plants and seedlings and 818 kilos of marijuana with a total value of $17.4 million (P748 million); 17,222 grams of cocaine worth $2 million (P86 million); and 960 Ecstasy tablets valued at $26,790 (P1.15 million).” According to the state department, “ethnic Chinese organized crime groups continue to be the primary organizers and financiers of methamphetamine trafficking in the Philippines.” “Law enforcement agencies, however, noted the new trend of African-produced methamphetamine being smuggled into the Philippines through the airports for onward distribution throughout Southeast Asia. PDEA and the National Bureau of Investigation conducted investigations that led to the arrest of several members of African drug trafficking organizations in Malaysia,” it said. The authorities also have “made large seizures of bulk high-grade methamphetamine that appeared to have been produced outside the Philippines and smuggled in via cargo shipments. This supports law enforcers’ findings of the continuing decline in industrial-size methamphetamine laboratories in the Philippines itself due to improved detection and law enforcement efforts. PDEA also seized six smaller kitchen-type clandestine methamphetamine laboratories.” On the other hand, marijuana cultivation in the country “occurs in remote mountainous regions of Luzon and Mindanao.” “The government conducted 97 manual eradication missions to suppress this cultivation throughout the year,” the agency said. It also reported that in 2011, “the issue of Philippine citizens being used as drug couriers by transnational drug trafficking organizations gained national attention when (four) Filipinos were executed in China for drug trafficking.” “Philippine citizens have also been arrested in other countries while attempting to smuggle cocaine from South America into Asia, as well as methamphetamine within Southeast Asia,” it said.

In the report, the Department of State cited the Aquino administration for its “special effort to increase cooperation among Philippine agencies involved in drug enforcement.” “This cooperation resulted in a 45-percent increase in counter-drug operations,” it said. It also said that Manila “continued to face the daunting task of tackling transnational drug trafficking organizations without strong legal tools, such as a provision for the judicially authorized interception of criminal communications, plea bargaining and an efficient drug asset forfeiture process.” “Without these important tools, law enforcers’ ability to gather evidence against high-level drug traffickers remains limited,” it said.

Comprehensive Dangerous Act of 2002 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9165

June 7, 2002

AN ACT INSTITUTING THE COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002, REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6425, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 1972, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known and cited as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002". Section 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to safeguard the integrity of its territory and the wellbeing of its citizenry particularly the youth, from the harmful effects of dangerous drugs on their physical and mental well-being, and to defend the same against acts or omissions detrimental to their development and preservation. In view of the foregoing, the State needs to enhance further the efficacy of the law against dangerous drugs, it being one of today's more serious social ills. Toward this end, the government shall pursue an intensive and unrelenting campaign against the trafficking and use of dangerous drugs and other similar substances through an integrated system of planning, implementation and enforcement of anti-drug abuse policies, programs, and projects. The government shall however aim to achieve a balance in the national drug control program so that people with legitimate medical needs are not prevented from being treated with adequate amounts of appropriate medications, which include the use of dangerous drugs. It is further declared the policy of the State to provide effective mechanisms or measures to re-integrate into society individuals who have fallen victims to drug abuse or dangerous drug dependence through sustainable programs of treatment and rehabilitation.

Designer Drug A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests.[1] Designer drugs include psychoactive substances that have been designated by the European Union as new psychoactive substances (NPS)[2] as well as analogs of performance-enhancing drugs such as designer steroids.[3] Some of these were originally synthesized by academic or industrial researchers in an effort to discover more potent derivatives with fewer side effects and were later co-opted for illicit use. Other designer drugs were prepared for the first time in clandestine laboratories.[4] Because the efficacy and safety of these substances has not been thoroughly evaluated in animal and human trials, the use of these drugs may result in unexpected side effects.[5]

The development of designer drugs may be considered a subfield of drug design. The exploration of modifications to known active drugs—such as their structural analogues, stereoisomers, and derivatives—yields drugs that may differ significantly in effects from their "parent" drug (e.g., showing increased potency, or decreased side effects).[4] [6] In some instances, designer drugs have similar effects to other known drugs, but have completely dissimilar chemical structures (e.g. JWH-018 vs THC). Despite being a very broad term, applicable to almost every synthetic drug, it is often used to connote synthetic recreational drugs, sometimes even those which have not been designed at all (i.e. LSD, the psychedelic side effects of which were discovered unintentionally). This article specifically discusses recreational drugs. For the discussion of drug design in pharmacology, please see drug design. In some jurisdictions, drugs that are highly similar in structure to a prohibited drug are illegal to trade regardless of that drug's legal status. In other jurisdictions, their trade is a legal grey area, making them grey market goods. Some jurisdictions may have analogue laws which ban drugs similar in chemical structure to other prohibited drugs, while some designer drugs may be prohibited irrespective of the legal status of structurally similar drugs; in both cases, their trade may take place on the black market.