Cheap, Dangerous ’Pufa’ Drug Epidemic Alarms Moroccan Officials

Pufa, a new cheap drug known as the "poor man’s cocaine," is spreading in Morocco, reports the website Arabi21, specifying that its price varies between seven and ten dollars per gram. "This is a dangerous drug that is spreading rapidly [in society] because it is cheap, and it seriously endangers the mental and physical faculties of those who consume it, particularly by causing anxiety attacks accompanied by hallucinations, which can lead people to self-harm or harm others," said Tayeb Hamidi, head of the private sector doctors’ union in Morocco.

This drug not only has social repercussions, including the separation of families and an increase in suicides and murders, but it also leads to physical complications, such as skin infections, ulcers, cardiovascular diseases and kidney problems. According to Tayeb Hamidi’s explanations, AGPI (polyunsaturated fatty acid), the scientific name of the drug) is manufactured from cocaine residues and mixed with chemicals, including ammonia, until it becomes a crystalline substance. It is consumed by inhaling or smoking it. "This dangerous drug spread in America in the 1980s and in the 1990s in a number of European countries," he said.

Given its dangerousness, Moroccans have launched a campaign on social media to urge the government to intervene immediately. The issue should also be debated in Parliament. Deputies have sent written questions to the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, on the procedures and efforts deployed to fight drugs.