The Forensic Science Division of the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office says it has developed what it claims is the world's first method to detect the use of a hallucinogenic drug known as dextromethrophan (DMX).

An offficial at the department said a research paper detailing the method of detecting the use of DMX was published in the December 2004 issue of a German chemical magazine, Chromatographia.

The official said the new method can detect whether a person has taken the drug by examining the chemical composition of hair.

DMX, a component of an over-the-counter cough suppression medication, was designated as a psychedelic drug by the Seoul government in October last year.

DMX is a fairly high-risk drug and can be fatal if used in combination with other narcotics. It was approved for commercial medical use in the United States by the FDA in 1958.

DXM is in a class of drugs known as dissociative anaesthetics. Many of these have powerful psychedelic effects at sufficiently high doses.