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

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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