Synthetic drugs: the most "worrying" threat to the López Obrador government

Elements of the Secretary of the Navy dismantled two clandestine narcotics laboratories located in Mazatlan, in the state of Sinaloa., where they were found around 1,250 kilograms of presumed glbad paste, 500 liters of suspected liquid crystal, chemical precursors, as well as the equipment and materials used for synthetic drug.

In a statement, the navy said that to locate the narcolaboratories, land and air units of the Navy of Mexico City were used, where the infantry personnel managed to locate, securing and deactivating two clandestine laboratories, allegedly used for the production and distribution of synthetic drugs.

In the first laboratory, insurance was obtained for approximately 1,250 kilograms of substance with characteristics similar to those of paste glbad, with 500 liters having characteristics similar to those of liquid crystals, 500 kg of caustic soda, and in the second, about 800 liters of hydrochloric acid in drums, 100 liters of gasoline in drums, 300 kilograms of leadas well as the equipment and materials used to develop the suspected drugs have been discovered.

The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, yesterday at his press conference He said drug use fueled violence in the country, saying his government would focus on a campaign to discourage dependency among young people.. He is particularly worried about the growth of synthetic drug use because of its high degree of destruction, he said.

"We are very concerned about synthetic drugs because they are very destructive and we have to stop the consumption of young people. We are already working for that. There will be a plan. As we have done with huachicol, what we said: we will face it, so we are developing a plan of attention for young people.

He mentioned that the country was previously drug trafficking, but consumption has increased in recent years, a detailed diagnosis of the evolution of drug addiction is in preparation because you can not transform what you do not know. "If we stop this consumption, we can move towards peace," he said.

"Drug addiction leads to the consumption of other crimes"

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) faces the emergence of new psychoactive substances on the illegal markets of Mexico as well as 13 countries of Latin America.

Over the past decade, they have emerged, at least in Mexico, about 30 drugss. According to data from the United Nations early warning system.

Among them are hallucinogens, substances of vegetable origin, cannabinoids and synthetic stimulants; which include various synthetic cathinones and piperazines.

These substances carry significant health risks, ranging from poisoning to death.

According to information from the Drug Division, up to 15 types of synthetic drugs or design are sold online, which also indicates that sales have been detected via social networks in Mexico City, State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Nayarit . , Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Sinaloa and Quintana Roo.

The profile of Mexican consumers is made up of people from 17 and 32 yearswithout a criminal record, with a medium-high socio-economic level and computer skills, which hide their identity in the network.

The purchase and sale of these drugs, among which are distinguished LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline (hallucinogenic alkaloid) and proscaline (sleep drug), which cost between 130 and 200 pesos, s perform through the darknet or dark network.

The delivery of the goods is carried out regularly through a parcel processor and, in extreme cases, by drones handled remotely or through an application.

The psychotropic drugs 2C-C and 2C-E, are two psychoactive substances, stimulants and hallucinogens that are sold in Mexico and can be found on the open Internet or in Facebook groups, as they are not regulated in the international narcotics and psychotropic checklists.

These new drugs are available on the market with modified chemical formulas that generate anxiety attacks and severe psychosis.

These substances are elaborated in a traditional way. They are a mixture of poisons and chemicals that make them more harmful and addictive.

Incense, spices, bath salts, new cloud, flakka, lunar. Wave, Vanilla Sky, White Lighthing and Sarface, are the new men that young people ask the drug distributors.

These drugs are considered to be of design and, to date, it has not been possible to decipher their compounds accurately.

Spice, K2 or incense try to replicate the effect of marijuana, but they can be 100 to 800 times more powerful. They are made with fertilizers, caustic soda, rat poison, combined with cocaine, marijuana and other chemicals.

These new substances are unregulated and market availability is high.

Ecstasy, already famous, has gained popularity among consumers of this type of substance. The doses and presentations in which it can be ingested are higher than the rates consumed in other countries.

In Mexico, the dose varies from 270 to 340 mg, while the "standard" amount in other countries does not exceed 80 mg.

Health experts have warned that the excessive consumption of these drugs is badociated with homicidal and suicidal behavior.

Panic attacks have also been reported among consumers, a loss of control of body, inability to think, dizziness, suicidal thoughts and depression.

According to the latest National Survey of Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco 2016-2017 of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), the prevalence of any drug consumed between The population aged 12 to 65 increased from 7.8% in 2011 to 10.3% in 2016.

According to the official account presented yesterday by the President of Mexico, based on data from prosecutors and federal agencies, On Tuesday, 62 murders were reported.

Lopez Obrador celebrated it: "Yesterday, for example, and it gives me pleasure even if it is not to sing the victory, there were 15 homicide-free states out of the 32"

The state with the highest number of deaths is Chihuahua (10), followed by the State of Mexico (9) and Guerrero (5).

No homicides have been reported in Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Mexico City, Colima, Durango, Hidalgo, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tabasco in Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Yucatan.

The number of murder victims between January and February in Mexico amounted to 5,649 people, 13.5% more than the 4 977 victims in the first two months of 2018, according to data from the executive secretariat of the national public security system.

In 2018, there were 33,369 victims of willful homicideBeing the most violent year in Mexican history since its inception, it was recorded in 1997.