PDEA: RECLASSIFY 3 CHEMICALS AS DANGEROUS

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chairman Anselmo S.  Avenido Jr.  has recommended to the Dangerous Drugs Board that three chemicals used in the manufacture of shabu be classified as dangerous drugs.  Avenido also asked that imports of the three chemicals -- Ephedrine and Thionyl Chloride, two ingredients used in making shabu -- and Ketamine, a substance which is fast gaining popularity as a drug of abuse in Asia, Europe and the United States ' be immediately seized and destroyed.

In a letter to Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary and concurrent DDB officer-in-charge Jose D.  Lina Jr., Avenido said Ephedrine and its isomers, Pseudoephedrine and Norephedrine, should be reclassified from the category of "controlled precursor and essential chemical" to "dangerous drugs."

He cited Section 93, Article 11 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 as his basis in making the recommendation.  Alfred Dalizon