The Egyptian Cabinet on Jan. 30 approved amendments to an existing law imposing severe punishments for anyone caught peddling or using synthetic narcotics or importing substances for their manufacture. Egypt has for decades acknowledged the problem of drug addiction, but in recent months there has been a focus on locally manufactured cheap drugs, particularly the synthetic drugs called Strox and Voodoo, which have reportedly caused several deaths among young people.
Mohamed Abdel-Ghani, assistant professor of psychological health and addiction treatment at Zagazig University, said that the cabinet’s move comes at the right time.
