International law enforcement has intercepted tons (literally) of captagon en route to Syria and speculation is that the amphetamine is being used by ISIS and other terrorist groups to fuel their nefarious activities. Captagon (generic name fenethylline) is a combination of amphetamine and theophyllin – a type of methyxanthine drug similar to caffeine, formerly used to treat asthma. Laboratory analysis of captured terrorists and post-mortem examinations of killed ISIS fighters reveal extremely elevated levels of captagon and its metabolites. Amphetamines cause elevated heart rate and blood pressure, weight loss, resistance to pain or fatigue and increased alertness – to a point. Amphetamines are well known to cause paranoid delusions – the Air Force used to give pilots amphetamines to keep them awake on long flights, but pretty soon the pilots began to hallucinate and believe they were taking ground fire, so they would drop their missiles on friendly troops – this happened as recently as the Gulf War, when American pilots taking amphetamines dropped a payload on a Canadian convoy. Talk about an insane combination – religious fanatics with superhuman strength and paranoid delusions.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-24/captagon-the-drug-that-kept-the-paris-attackers-calm/6970464
