Special to WorldTribune.com

A highly-addictive pill that is popular in the Middle East is producing fearless soldiers who can remain effective on the battlefield for days without sleep.

Captagon, produced in Syria, is a powerful amphetamine tablet based on the original synthetic drug known as “fenethylline.” Observers say the drug is being used heavily by fighters in the Syrian war, including Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) jihadists.

“You can’t sleep or even close your eyes, forget about it,” a Lebanese user told the BBC. “And whatever you take to stop it, nothing can stop it.”

“I felt like I own the world high,” another user said. “Like I have power nobody has. A really nice feeling.”

“There was no fear anymore after I took Captagon,” a third man added.

An ex-Syrian fighter told the BBC that the drug is tailor-made for the battlefield as it gives soldiers superhuman energy and courage:

“So the brigade leader came and told us, ‘this pill gives you energy, try it’,” he said. “So we took it the first time. We felt physically fit. And if there were 10 people in front of you, you could catch them and kill them. You’re awake all the time. You don’t have any problems, you don’t even think about sleeping, you don’t think to leave the checkpoint. It gives you great courage and power. If the leader told you to go break into a military barracks, I will break in with a brave heart and without any feeling of fear at all — you’re not even tired.”

Captagon quickly produces a euphoric intensity in users, allowing fighters to stay up for days.

“Syrian government forces and rebel groups each say the other uses Captagon to endure protracted engagements without sleep, while clinicians say ordinary Syrians are increasingly experimenting with the pills, which sell for between $5 and $20 (U.S.),” Reuters reported.

The illegal drug not only fuels fighters, but also Syria’s black market economy. Sales of Captagon, which is widely available across the Middle East, accounts for hundreds of millions of dollars each year and enables militias to purchase new arms and new fighters to pour onto the battlefield.

“Syria is a tremendous problem in that it’s a collapsed security sector, because of its porous borders, because of the presence of so many criminal elements and organized networks,” the UN Office on Drugs and Crime regional representative, Masood Karimipour, told Voice of America (VOA).

“There’s a great deal of trafficking being done of all sorts of illicit goods — guns, drugs, money, people. But what is being manufactured there and who is doing the manufacturing, that’s not something we have visibility into from a distance.”

The drug has been present in the West for decades and has also been used by Western militaries. In the 1960s, Captagon was given to people suffering from hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression, according to Reuters. Because of its addictiveness, however, the drug was banned in most countries by the 1980s.

Doctors report that the drug’s side effects include psychosis and brain damage, according to the BBC. Several fighters said they saw severe health problems among soldiers who became addicted.

A drug control officer in the central Syrian city of Homs told Reuters he witnessed the effects of Captagon on some fighters who were held for questioning.

“We would beat them, and they wouldn’t feel the pain. Many of them would laugh while we were dealing them heavy blows,” he said. “We would leave the prisoners for about 48 hours without questioning them while the effects of Captagon wore off, and then interrogation would become easier.”

  Amphetamine pill fuels superhuman intensity on Syrian battlefields, Captagon, WorldTribune.com