The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said that 6-methoxy Methylone has been found in illegal drugs commonly known as “poisonous coffee” or “poisonous milk tea” sachets.
Police have found illegal drugs hidden in sachets of instant coffee or milk tea during raids in recent years and the FDA said it has assisted law enforcement agencies to examine the substances found, identifying the mixtures.
Among 14,550 items the FDA examined between 2010 and August, about 90 percent were illegal drugs, with the majority being ketamine — accounting for about 87 percent — followed by cathinones.
It said that drugs identified in the items included 15 cathinones, eight active ingredients from marijuana, eight phenethylamines, two tryptamines, two benzodiazepines, a non-barbiturate and a piperazine.
FDA official Wang Der-yuan (王德原) said that gas chromatography and mass spectrometry tests of a “poisonous coffee” sachet seized by police recently showed the presence of 6-methoxy Methylone — the first time the substance has been detected in a sachet in Taiwan.
“It seems similar to synthetic cathinones [commonly known as ‘bath salts’], so we guess it is also a stimulant that targets the central nervous system,” Wang said, adding that while the toxicity of 6-methoxy Methylone is unclear, it is likely to cause respiratory depression, rapid breathing, increased blood pressure and hallucinations.
The FDA urged people to say “no” to unknown substances from unknown sources and be on the alert when entering recreational sites where people are likely to possess illegal drugs.
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