Opioid tramadol destabilizes, fuels terror in parts of Africa, UN warns
Tramadol can work as a physical and emotional pain reliever and is attractive to people experiencing loss or trauma
CNN (US)
Friday, December 15, 2017
Friday, December 15, 2017
The illegal trade and growing abuse of tramadol, a synthetic opioid, are destabilizing parts of West Africa, especially in the Sahel region, where it is fueling terror groups and providing revenue for them to carry out attacks, UN officials and security experts say. The nonmedical use of tramadol has become such a health crisis in areas like northern Mali and Niger that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, or UNODC, issued a warning to the international community. The problem "is serious, worrying, and needs to be addressed as soon as possible," Pierre Lapaque, UNODC's regional representative in West and Central Africa, said in a statement. "We cannot let the situation get any further out of control."
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