Delayed poison registry updates hamper synthetic drug probes, says minister

The emergence of a new synthetic drug known as ‘Piu Piu’, found in e-cigarette liquids, has seen the police calling for a ban on vapes.

JOHOR BAHRU: Authorities and regulators face a growing challenge to fast-track the scheduling of synthetic drug chemicals under the Poisons Act 1952, a move critical to ensuring unimpeded legal action.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said swift action was critical, warning that delays in gazetting the substances would severely hamper police investigations.

“When a police investigation traces a case back to synthetic drugs, the matter is referred to the chemistry department. If toxic elements are identified but happen to be missing from the poisons registry, it severely complicates any subsequent legal proceedings,” he said.

He was speaking at a press conference after attending an event organised by the national anti-drugs agency (AADK), at SMK Puteri Wangsa here today.

He was responding to comments by deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, who argued that the emergence of a new synthetic drug known as “Piu Piu”, which was found laced in e-cigarette liquids, justifies a total ban on vapes.

Ayob Khan said this was because the drug contains a mixture of Fentanyl and psychoactive chemicals, which can trigger a severe, zombie-like high in users.

Saifuddin said the issue of classifying toxic substances has already been brought to the Cabinet for discussion to find a permanent solution.

In response, the home ministry is stepping up coordination with the health ministry and the chemistry department to ensure more effective law enforcement against new synthetic drug syndicates.

He further revealed that while the west coast states still record the use of mixed substances, such as marijuana and heroin, states in the east coast are now dominated by synthetic drugs, which have a far more devastating and alarming impact.