In France, on 12 January 2021, in a large-scale operation, a dozen Pentobarbital traffickers were arrested.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate previously prescribed for use in anesthesia and as a sleeping pill (for its hypnotic properties). It is known to be addictive, and in high doses it causes cardiorespiratory failure. In France, pentobarbital has been banned for medical use in humans since 1996 and is now used exclusively to euthanize animals. Nonetheless, Switzerland and Belgium allow its use for assisted suicides, and in the United States, it is sometimes used to execute death row inmates.
The investigation began in 2019 when the US authorities delivered a list of the persons receiving this product in France. This barbiturate is very popular in the pro-euthanasia networks,
These new arrests are a follow-up to over a hundred raids carried out in October 2019 where 130 vials of pentobarbital were confiscated from 135 buyers. One may recall that this same product was used by Chantal Sébire to end her life.
The suspected traffickers are activists of the pro-euthanasia association “Ultimate Freedom», and are mostly psychologists, teachers or physiotherapists, aged between 60 – 80 years old.
According to Europe 1 news: ” Last year the prosecutor’s office in Paris opened a judicial investigation on the grounds of smuggling goods which are dangerous to public health, illegally practicing the profession of pharmacist, and advertising products or methods for committing suicide. »
