Sotto: Muscle spray being used to get high at parties

Senator Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday asked concerned government agencies to look into a brand of muscle spray which is allegedly being used by young people to get high at parties.

In his privilege speech, Sotto identified the muscle pain killer as WariActiv, a pain relief product. He said the product is available in drug stores and sold even via the internet for P750 to P1,500.

He said the muscle spray could have been one of the drugs or substances used by some of the victims in the deadly rave party on May 21 at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds in Pasay City.

Inhalation of ethyl chloride sprays reportedly causes non-stop laughing, irregular heart beat and death when misused.

"It is promoted at the internet for people who go to rave parties and just want to be happy. I therefore endorse for scrutiny and tests, to the Dangerous Drugs Board, PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), the Food and Drug Administration this item to determine the need for some protocol for its purchase," the senator, who once headed the DDB, said.

Sotto also expressed sadness that the rave phenomenon has become an "enabler and facilitator of the illegal drugs trade, use and abuse."

"Marijuana and mind-altering substances are openly peddled and presumed. It's a different ballgame. We do not mean to curtail their fun, we just want them to stay alive after the party's over," he said.

Even if the government removes all drug pushers, Sotto said these efforts would be put to waste if there is no "serious" rehabilitation program and a "massive" prevention program nationwide.

"The summers of the youth are still ahead of them, and it is much too soon for them to experience their summers in the cemetery. And yes, mayroong forever. Our vigilance, our watching over our youth, that they may survive their youth," he said. —ALG, GMA News