"Cheaper" shabu formulated by desperate drug pushers, warns PDEA

Manila Standard Today’s Jonathan Fernandez reports that Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Jose Gutierrez Jr. said that a "cheaper" version of shabu, mephentermine, "is fast gaining acceptance, being more affordable than meth or methanphetamine hydrochloride (shabu)."

The "cheaper shabu" is also called "meph." The report noted that it is "a chemical with close structural similarity to shabu, but it is not mentioned in the ban under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002." The report quoted Gutierrez, who said, "PDEA had already lobbied and sought proper representations with the Dangerous Drugs Board to include mephentermine in the list of dangerous substances."

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