SHAH ALAM, May 28 — The National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) will roll out specialised testing kits starting next month to detect the use of fentanyl, a synthetic drug widely known as the zombie drug.
Berita Harian reported that its director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said the testing kits will be distributed to the entire agency's offices nationwide, while refuting claims that AADK lacks the capability to detect fentanyl or other emerging synthetic drugs.
“Starting June, we will launch operations and begin testing using these new devices,” he told the media during the AADK 2026 Hari Raya Aidiladha and Qurban Values Appreciation Programme at the Narcotic Addiction Rehabilitation Centre in Sepang today.
Ruslin added that AADK will focus on gathering data from the testing kits at an early stage to evaluate their effectiveness in identifying the specific types of drugs being abused, with sufficient data collected, and then follow up with legal action.
He acknowledged that among the challenges in enforcing both laws and rehabilitation programmes is the rise of new drugs, particularly their use in electronic cigarettes.
“In the past, we fought in the context of traditional drugs like marijuana and heroin; now our challenge is facing drugs like fentanyl. We also have terms used out there like magic mushroom, synthetic cannabis, and cocaine itself.
“But what is clear is that most of these drugs, like fentanyl, synthetic cannabis, or cocaine, are partly used as vape liquids, formulated into liquids to be smoked through vaping materials.
“We also face challenges of polydrug abuse (using two or more different types of drugs or illicit substances simultaneously or in succession), which has far more severe effects,” Ruslin said.
As such, he urged the public to clear up the term "magic mushroom" in the country because the substance does not contain the organic compound psilocybin.
The test conducted by AADK revealed that what is being marketed as magic mushrooms in Malaysia is actually liquid synthetic cannabis.
