The Secret Weapon being used in Syria isn’t a bomb, or a hi-tech tank or aircraft, the Secret Weapon used by many Syrians is a small pill. This small pill used by militants and the regime alike, can turn its user into a Super Soldier, that feels invincible, allowing a user to stay awake and alert for days. A single pill has enabled its user’s to feel like “if there were ten people in front of you, you could catch them and kill them”, and at around $10 USD a pill, its use has become widespread throughout the battlefield.
This pill is commonly known as Captagon, and it’s been around since the 1960s. Captagon was patented in German, and used in the West to treat those suffering from depression, hyperactivity and narcolepsy. However, in the 1980s the addictiveness of the drug had it banned throughout the world. But now it has fallen into the hands of Islamic radicals and the Syrian regime, which are using its powerful stimulant abilities to turn their soldiers into Super Humans that can fight for days on end, without the need of food or sleep. Syria has become a hub for Captagon production, as all sides are racing to get as much of this drug as possible into the hands of their soldiers.
Captagon gives its user hyperstimulation, making them overly aware and active to the point where users can’t even close their eyes while on the drug, let alone feel hunger or thirst, allowing soldiers to fight for days without any provisions. Moreover, the drug makes its user feel little to no pain, not because Captagon is a painkiller, but rather due to the hyperstimulation and extreme focus brought on by the drug, making the user less responsive to pain. In a war were either side is poised to do anything in order to have an advantage, Captagon has been a godsend.
Most officers introduce the drug to their soldiers as a way to increase their stamina and moral, and as an ex-fighter told BBC, “his 350-person brigade took the pill without knowing if it was a drug or medicine for energy”. The benefits of the drug are felt almost instantly, with soldiers describing the euphoria as if “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”. Subsequently, Captagon has proven highly effective in gaining a battlefield advantage, as soldiers under siege can fight for days on end, with barely any rations or rest. Additionally, soldiers on the offensive rush straight into battle, without fear of death, often taking otherwise fatal wounds without a flinch, allowing regiments high on Captagon to seem like they have superhuman abilities of fearlessness and invincibility.
Consequently, the side-effects of the drug are hardly mentioned to soldiers on the front line, as their commanding officers only look towards the immediate battlefield gains attributed to the drug. Captagon is an extremely addictive drug, and over long term use a user might find it almost impossible to stop, as they long for that euphoric sense of bliss. The cheap cost and widespread availability of Captagon, has significantly changed the outcome of Syria’s battlefront, as soldiers eagerly want the chance to escape their own reality and become something out of their childhood fantasies.
This article and many like it that talk about Captagon being used in Syria is assuming that they are not counterfeiting the real drug ” Fenethylline” which is a co drug of amphetamine without the high blood pressure or cardiovascular issues and has fewer side effects and less potential for abuse than amphetamine !
Today the drug is highly counterfeited due to not being manufactured by most drug company’s and outlawed in most western countries.
Many of the counterfeits contain other amphetamine derivatives that are easier to produce, and will cause these radicals to drop dead on the battlefield just like a sports player who is abusing amphetamines ! In which case is a win win for both sides.