The impact of the amphetamine Captagon on refugees and vulnerable populations in Jordan

Captagon is an illegal amphetamine-type substance that is popular in the Middle East. Syria has become a major production hub where national and foreign militia groups are heavily involved in the trafficking of captagon. Significant captagon trade routes cross the southern Syrian border with Jordan on their way to the Arabian Peninsula and, due to the influx of captagon, Jordan is transforming from a drug transit to a drug consumer country.

Simultaneously, Jordan is a long-term host of a large-scale refugee population, including over 700,000 Syrians. Despite limited evidence, there is a popular perception that associates refugees, particularly Syrians, with drug use and trade.

The Jordanian state's approach is to view captagon as a security threat to the state, society and region. This two-year interdisciplinary project uses mixed methods (a chemical analysis using innovative techniques, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions) to examine how the framing of captagon as a security threat impacts on refugees and vulnerable host communities (populations experiencing legal and socio-economic vulnerability) in Jordan.

The project is truly collaborative: it builds on the project leads' previous externally-funded research collaborations on substance abuse in the Middle East. In addition, it establishes new partnerships with organisations working on drug use and on refugees in Jordan. Knowledge and expertise will be shared across cultures through the close collaboration with the Jordanian-based advisory board and the Jordanian civil society project partners.

The project addresses three research questions focusing on the intersection between captagon and vulnerable populations in Jordan: 'What are the profile, drivers and effects of captagon use amongst refugee and vulnerable Jordanian populations?'

'What support and treatment services are available to refugees and vulnerable Jordanian communities who use captagon, and what are the challenges in the access to and provision of this support? 'How do refugees and vulnerable populations in Jordan access captagon?'

The study involves 120 semi-structured interviews with captagon users; key informants and community members in four study locations (Amman, Irbid, Mafraq and Zarqa) across Jordan. One focus group discussion with key informants and community members in each location will help to translate results into impact. A chemical analysis of confiscated captagon tablets will expose the drug's composition and this will inform more targeted treatment practices.

The project will have considerable scientific and societal impact: beneficiaries include national/international policymakers in humanitarian and public health spaces, civil society (particularly drug treatment providers in Jordan) and vulnerable communities (particularly, refugees and drug users in socio-economically deprived areas). The project will recommend how to effectively protect and support these vulnerable groups in Jordan at two workshops with policymakers and civil society.

An 'Addiction is a Disease, not a Crime' poster and social media campaign will raise public awareness and reduce stigma surrounding substance use treatment. A briefing note will support the development of drug use treatment protocols in Jordan. The creation of new software to enable rapid analysis of captagon tablets will enable more targeted treatment options.

Chemists will benefit from open access (under special license) to the chemical analysis data. A policy note will provide guidance for national and international policymakers on addressing captagon's growing geopolitical impact. The project will generate new open access data (in the form of interview transcripts, focus group discussion transcripts) and interview protocols valuable to social science researchers.