November 5, 2025 | 03:21 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Deputy for Prevention of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Muhammad Zainul Muttaqin, revealed that there are 1,386 types of narcotics worldwide, with 99 currently identified in Indonesia.
However, five substances remain unclassified under national regulations, leaving a potential gap in enforcement.
“Of these, 94 types are regulated under the Minister of Health’s regulation,” Zainul said in a written statement on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. He highlighted etomidate as a substance of growing concern, noting that it has recently been detected in the liquid of electronic cigarettes or vapes.
Several countries, including Taiwan, have already classified etomidate as a Class 1 narcotic. In Indonesia, the substance has also drawn attention from the National Police (Polri).
National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said the police are advocating for both etomidate and ketamine to be formally recognized as narcotics.
The authorities are coordinating with the Ministry of Health’s Access to Medicines Task Force to explore legal avenues.
The goal is to include these substances in the revision appendix of the Narcotics Law and in the Minister of Health’s regulation on narcotics classification.
“We hope that the abuse of these two dangerous compounds can be subject to criminal punishment,” Sigit said during a drug destruction event at Bhayangkara Field, National Police Headquarters, South Jakarta, on Wednesday, October 29, 2025.
According to the BNN, etomidate falls under New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), a category of emerging drugs that are not yet fully regulated but are closely monitored due to their sedative effects and high abuse potential.
In practice, NPS like etomidate are sometimes exploited by drug syndicates as legal loopholes to market dangerous products under the guise of pseudo-legality.
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