Grenzverkehr: Wie Syrien Captagon nutzt, um Einfluss auf Saudi-Arabien zu gewinnen

This article discusses the trade in Captagon, an illicit recreational drug in the amphetamine family which is a codrug of amphetamine, the powerful stimulant, and theophylline, a drug in the same methylxanthine family of drugs as caffeine. The Syrian dictator Bashar-Al-Assad leverages Syria’s dominant position in the manufacture and distribution of Captagon to exert influence in the Arab world, putting pressure on the Gulf states to treat his regime favourably.