The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to list several substances similar to etomidate — an increasingly abused anesthetic in Asia — as controlled drugs in line with their classification as narcotics by the Ministry of Justice, an agency official said early last month.
The FDA on July 4 announced plans to list butomidate, trifluoroethyl, flutomidate and several substances with similar molecular formulas as “Schedule 2 controlled drugs,” as they have been detected in investigations by law enforcement authorities, FDA controlled drugs division deputy head Chang Chih-hsu (張志旭) said.
The new classification was subject to a 14-day public consultation period, which ended on July 18. It is pending official publication by the Executive Yuan to take effect.
Photo courtesy of the police
The justice ministry’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs on May 29 decided 29 to classify these substances as Class II narcotics, as with etomidate, methamphetamine, fentanyl and cannabis, Chang said.
Etomidate, which is known as zombie vape in Taiwan, space oil in Hong Kong and Kpod in Singapore, has caused deaths as street drugs taken by vaping.
Such developments led to the controlled medication’s subsequent designation first as a Class 3 narcotic under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) in June last year, then its reclassification as a Class 2 drug in November last year.
However, the reclassification of etomidate as a Class 2 drug was only published in the Executive Yuan Gazette on June 26, which was also subject to a 14-day public consultation period before it could take effect, a justice ministry official said.
Although the newly classified etomidate-like substances are not used for medical purposes, the new FDA classification is aimed at tightening control of substances such as butomidate, which are mainly used in scientific research, Chang said.
Researchers would be required to obtain permits if they want to use these controlled substances for academic or scientific work, and to keep a daily log on their use, quantity in stock and disposal, Chang said.
Failure to comply with the requirements stipulated in the Controlled Drugs Act (管制藥品管理條例) carries a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$300,000.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crimes categorizes butomidate on its Web site as “sedatives/hypnotics,” which is one of the six groups of “new psychoactive substances” for which it cooperated with the US Drug Enforcement Administration in developing an “Early Warning Advisory.”
The UN office also operates an online “Tox-Portal” to share data on toxicology and harm related to the use of new psychoactive substances around the world.
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