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As the management of propofol, which is designated as a narcotic, becomes more strict, more and more people are looking for a general anesthesia inducer called Etomidetra. Singer Wheesung was discovered a few months ago after the medication, but this time another celebrity was confirmed to have been investigated by the police trying to get the drug.

This is an exclusive report by Ahn Hee-jae.

<Reporter> At the

end of last month, celebrity A, an idol group, was summoned to the police as a reference to a drug case.

I was investigating an illegal dealer selling cannabis and general anesthesia inducer etomidate without prescription, but the evidence of Mr. A's involvement was revealed.

The police confirmed the purchase against Mr. A, and Mr. A is said to have stated, "I haven't bought or used any drugs, and I've been aware of the purchase of etomidate."

It was also reported that a hair test resulted in a negative.

The agency insisted, "Mr. A has been prescribed and administered etomidate for treatment purposes, but has never purchased it illegally."

Ethomidate, which is injected into a vein to induce general anesthesia, may cause side effects such as respiratory arrest if administered in excess of the dose.

However, it was not designated as a narcotics because it was not proven addictive and hallucinogenic.

Even if an illegal transaction is caught, only the selling side will be punished for violating the pharmacist law, and the living side will not be punished.

For this reason, Wheesung escaped the punishment even after purchasing 26 bottles of etomydate in the past four days in April, and only the seller was sentenced to one year in prison.


[In-Seok Oh/ Academic Director of the Korean Pharmaceutical Society: (People who purchase Etodate) seems to have to have a certain punishment. We need to cut the dark path more closely... .] The

Ministry of Food and Drug Affairs announced last month that it would pursue a plan to designate etomidate as a'misuse drug of abuse'.

(Video coverage: Choi Woong-woong, Video editing: So Ji-hye)