Podcast, The Take
News|Syria's War

Captagon, the drug fueling the rise – and fall – of Syria’s war

A Lebanese security official holds a single confiscated captagon pill in his hand at the judicial police headquarters in the city of Zahle in Lebanon's central Bekaa valley.
A Lebanese security official holds a single confiscated Captagon pill in his hand at the judicial police headquarters in the city of Zahle in Lebanon's central Bekaa valley [Joseph Eid/AFP]
Published On 10 Jul 2023

Captagon, a stimulant mainly produced in Syria which has become particularly popular with users in Gulf countries, has received a lot of press. While it seems clear that its trade is now one of the Syrian government’s main sources of income, less understood are its effects on users. Ever-larger seizures by authorities from Beirut to Abu Dhabi are daily occurrences. Captagon is also part of normalisation discussions following Syria’s readmission to the Arab League. How severe is the Captagon problem in Syria and the Middle East? And will stopping its trade speed up peace with Syria?

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In this episode: 

  • Caroline Rose (@CarolineRose8), director of Strategic Blind Spots Portfolio at the New Lines Institute
  • Elie Aaraj (@eaaraj), director of the Middle East and North Africa Harm Reduction Association

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by David Enders, with Chloe K Li and our host Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera AlDosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.

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Source: Al Jazeera