THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If ganja was the narcotic substance widely used earlier by youths in the district, their preference has now changed to synthetic drugs like MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) which are used as a medication for mentally challenged patients. For instance, the amount of MDMA seized in the capital district in 2020 when the lockdown had been in force for a long time was 35.26 grams, which was a huge jump from previous years.
A week ago, two IT professionals including a woman, who work in a company at Technopark and who are natives of Thiruvananthapuram, were arrested by an excise squad for allegedly transporting 100 grams of high-end MDMA, also called Ecstasy or Molly during a vehicle inspection on the Kerala-Karnataka check-post near Mananthavady in Wayanad district.
Upon interrogation, the excise received vital information that they were suppliers of the drug due to the rise in demand among IT professionals in the city. Since most of the IT companies have switched to work from home mode due to the pandemic, many professionals use these drugs at apartments and hotel rooms for night parties.
According to excise officials, unlike ganja, this drug acts like a steroid which gives high energy and an ecstatic mood for at least 24 hours. Hence, apartments and hotel rooms are under the surveillance of excise. This drug costs Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per gram in the local market while it is sold for double the price internationally.
“They duo was caught during a routine inspection at the border check-post. In the inspection, we found 100 grams of MDMA in powder form. They were on the way to Thiruvananthapuram after buying it from Bengaluru to supply this among IT professionals in the city. They were planning to sell 100 packets of one gram each so that they would get Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per packet. Unlike ganja, one gram of MDMA is sufficient for the user to get high for 24 hours. So, we suspect several people have been supplying in the district. We are on their trail to nab them,” said S Vinod Kumar, Assistant Excise Commissioner, Excise Enforcement and Anti- Narcotic Special Squad.
Excise officers said if ganja is sourced from Andhra Pradesh or from Theni in Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru is the epicentre of the supply of these high-end drugs. “It is a new-generation drug used during rave and night parties. It was commonly used in pubs in Bengaluru during late night DJ parties and events. Normally, it is used by urban youths in metropolitan cities. Now, it has found its way to other states and youths from small towns,” said Renjith (name changed), a former disc jockey (DJ) who used to perform in a pub in Bengaluru.
Health effects
As per the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a person may experience the intoxicating effects of MDMA within 45 minutes or so after taking a single dose. Those effects include an enhanced sense of well-being, increased extroversion, emotional warmth, empathy toward others and a willingness to discuss emotionally-charged memories. In addition, people report enhanced sensory perception as a hallmark of the MDMA experience. Normally, many youths use this drug by snorting the powder.
“The use of MDMA in small doses usually produces a sense of euphoria, emotional warmth and extroversion which prompt the user to repeat its use again. But use in higher quantities can cause harmful effects ranging from increased blood pressure, panic attack, seizures, loss of consciousness and, in toxic doses, even death.It also adversely affects the body’s temperature-regulation mechanism, leading to harmful consequences. Regular use of MDMA can cause depression, sleep disturbance, hallucination, suicidal tendency and heart diseases. It also adversely affects the ability of the person to perceive distance accurately, leading to frequent road accidents,” said Arun B Nair, psychiatrist, Medical college Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.
Handicapped system
Meanwhile, the excise department has limitations in detecting rave parties being held in apartments and hotel rooms. “It is true that the drug use has become rampant inside private apartments and hotel rooms to evade suspicion. Normally, we nab a supplier or a suspected link based on the information received from arrested persons or informers. For instance, the seizure of 1.1kg of MDMA from an apartment at Kakkanad in Kochi was based on intelligence inputs from central agencies. It was a joint operation with central customs. Our technical team should be strengthened so that we could identify and undertake covert operations,” said a senior excise official who requested anonymity.