The prevalence of illegal drug use in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

is lower than the global average, according to the

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French language, French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention ...

(UNODC). President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

has claimed that the country could become a "

narco-state Narco-state (also narco-capitalism or narco-economy) is a political and economic term applied to countries where all legitimate institutions become penetrated by the power and wealth of the illegal drug trade. The term was first used to descr ...

". Two of the most used and valuable illegal drugs in the country are methamphetamine hydrochloride (known locally as shabu) and

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

. In 2012, the United Nations said the Philippines had the highest rate of methamphetamine use in East Asia, and according to a U.S. State Department report, 2.1 percent of Filipinos aged 16 to 64 use the drug based on 2008 figures by the Philippines Dangerous Drugs Board. As of 2016, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report that 1.1 percent of Filipinos aged 10 to 69 use the drug. In

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

, most barangays are affected by illegal drugs.

Production

Marijuana

In September 2019, rapper Marlon Peroramas, better known by his stage name "Loonie" and 4 others were arrested on a buy-bust operation in Poblacion, Makati. The group was in possession of 15 sachets of high-grade marijuana with a street value of P100,000. (US$1,928.64)

Methamphetamine production

Drug syndicates have been producing methamphetamine in small-scale and kitchen-type laboratories to avoid detection by the Philippine authorities since 2010. Usually, drug syndicates rent warehouses for use as drug laboratories. These syndicates have moved towards renting houses in private subdivisions, condominiums and apartments to be used as bases for their illegal drug production. Private properties are becoming more favorable to drug syndicates as sites of illegal drug production. Methamphetamine remains more feasible to sell in the Philippines than cocaine, a more costly illegal drug. Owing to its geographical location, international drug syndicates use the Philippines as a transit hub for the illegal drug trade. Some local drug syndicates are also involved in the international illegal drug trade, and utilize drug mules to transport small amounts of illegal drugs to other countries. Some

overseas Filipino workers Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) is a term often used to refer to Filipino migrant workers, people with Filipino citizenship who reside in another country for a limited period of employment. The number of these workers was roughly 1.77 million ...

have been utilized by drug syndicates as

drug mules A mule or courier is someone who personally smuggles contraband across a border (as opposed to sending by mail, etc.) for a smuggling organization. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught themselves. Methods of smugglin ...

, either knowingly or unknowingly. Most Filipino drug mules, mainly women, are sent to China, where drug convicts will face execution via

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA ; ; ), also known as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main international airport serving Metro Manila in the Philippines. Located between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, about south of ...

has been identified as a favorable illegal drug trafficking hub. Some Filipinos choose to be involved in drug trafficking due to the promise of a high income. Some still participate in such illicit activity because they are forced by certain circumstances. There were reports in the past that some Filipinos, usually women, were forced and blackmailed by drug syndicates to work as drug couriers, and if they refused, their family's safety would be compromised. A Manila-based firm, Pacific Strategies & Assessments, identified the Philippines as, "not only a transhipment point, but also a key producer of synthetic drugs for all of Asia" in a report made in 2009. In December 2013, the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

– Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force and the Philippine Drug Enforcement confirmed reports that the Mexican

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel (, , after the native Sinaloa region), also known as the ''CDS'', the ''Guzmán-Loera Organization'', the ''Federation'', the ''Sinaloa Cartel'', or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, drug trafficking transnational organized cri ...

had started operations in the country. Methamphetamine has also been manufactured in North Korea and brought into the Philippines.

Chinese cartel involvement

About nine

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

drug cartels A drug cartel is a criminal organization composed of independent drug lords who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the illegal drug trade. Drug cartels form with the purpose of controlling the supply of the ill ...

are involved on most illegal drug trade in the Philippines. The

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

found out that Chinese drug cartels are behind the trade of methamphetamine hydrochloride on the Philippines. The president divulged the names of the members of a large Chinese triad group in an interview with PTV-4 on July 7. The members of the triad group included Chinese drug lords, namely Wu Tuan, aka tatay Co, Jameson Ching, Peter Lim, aka tiger balm, and Herbert Colangco, with the three under the protection of

Marcelo Garbo Jr Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. Marcelo may refer to: Given name * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapist, and necrophile * Marcelo Arriagada (born 1973), Chilean road cyclist ...

, one of the Philippine National Police generals named by Duterte on July 5.

Mexican cartel involvement

In a raid on a small cock-fighting operation in Lipa city, officials found 84 kilograms of methamphetamine also known by the locals as "shabu." In the raid three affiliates of the Sinaloa Cartel were arrested, the

being led by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Trade value

According to a 2010 U.S.

International Narcotics Control Strategy Report International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

the

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA, ; Filipino: ''Ahensiya ng Pilipinas sa Pagpapatupad ng Batas Laban sa Bawal na Gamot'') is the lead anti-drug law enforcement agency, responsible for preventing, investigating and combating any d ...

's Director General estimated that the value of the illegal drug trade in the Philippines to be worth $6.4 to $8.4 billion annually.

Party drugs

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (tablet form), and molly (crystal form), is an empathogen–entactogenic drug with stimulant and minor Psychedelic drug, psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used ...

(ecstasy), one of the party drugs, is the third most abused drug, next to cannabis and methamphetamine. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency discovered the production of " fly high", after a raid on a condominium unit in Makati. The effects of use of fly high includes

sleeplessness Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

loss of appetite Anorexia is a medical term for a loss of appetite. While the term outside of the scientific literature is often used interchangeably with anorexia nervosa, many possible causes exist for a loss of appetite, some of which may be harmless, while o ...

, and high libido. In May 2019, 39 bricks of cocaine valued at around 4 million were found by fishermen in the Philippines. While officials believe that this cocaine was in transit to Australia,

believes this was intended to be a diversion.

Drug use among minors

Inhalants Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They ...

are commonly used among minors, especially street children.

Street children in the Philippines The phenomenon of street children in the Philippines was first attested in the 1980s. As of 2021 the number of street children in the Philippines is estimated at around 250,000. Defining Filipino street children According to the "Stairway" fo ...

are most likely to be inhalant abusers. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency statistics of 2014 recorded 40% of minors arrested for drug possession, and drug syndicates use children as drug pushers. Children arrested for drug possession or use are brought to the

Department of Social Welfare and Development The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the protection of the social welfare of rights of Filipinos and to promote social development. History In 1915, ...

(DSWD), in compliance to Republic Act No. 9344 (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006).

Governmental response

Notes

References

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External links

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Illegal Drug Trade In Philippines

Crime in the Philippines by type Drugs in the Philippines