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.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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