Trends Legal chemicals sold to fuel heroin profits (UK)

[Lunar Loops]

This from The Observer (article link):

Legal chemicals sold to fuel heroin profits

Jamie Doward Sunday September 7 2008

Organised criminal gangs are developing a lucrative trade in importing mass quantities of legal chemicals and selling them on to drug dealers to be used as cutting agents for heroin and cocaine.
The so-called 'smash' or 'bash' industry is now generating such large profits that some criminal gangs have stopped selling illegal drugs to focus on buying and selling legal chemicals, according to Drugscope, the charity that monitors the price of drugs on Britain's streets.
Legal chemicals imported from such countries as China and mixed with pure cocaine and heroin include the anaesthetics benzocaine, lignocaine and phenacetin. Other substances used include caffeine and tetramisole, which is given to pets to expel tape worms.
One person involved in the industry told Druglink, Drugscope's magazine: 'Dealing in smash is more attractive than dealing in illegal drugs because it's more profitable and it's not a class A drug. I know people who make a living out of selling this stuff.' Recent analysis by Drugscope has found the purity levels of cocaine are plunging, suggesting a growing demand for cutting agents.

[KomodoMK]

Luckily my little fishy decided to give up cocaine since last new years. Stuff was sh*t back then. Would never touch H. All drugs on the black market are lowering in quality these days due to greed. I think research chemicals are the way forward with 99+% purity.

Little fishy hopes the MDMA his picking up tonight is of good quality! Thankfully it usually is where he gets it from.

[Sippin40oz]

The so-called 'smash' or 'bash' industry

Lol has anyone else heard of this name? Or are the media just making shit up again?!

Dealing in smash is more attractive than dealing in illegal drugs because it's more profitable

That is ridiculous claim! Surely if these chems are legal then anyone can buy them so the profit wouldnt be a great deal. The reason Drugs are so profitable is because the are illegal and hard(ish) to get! How could u make more profit from legal chemicals then saying growing weed, importing coke or say cooking up meth? Does this seem bullshit to anyone else?!

[cra$h]

Believable to those not in the game, but anyone who knows how to make money won't believe it. A business in selling cutting agents? No. As far as purity, there's plenty of ways to get rid of the cuttings, but you're still paying more money for less product. In swim's town, alcohol is almost impossible to get, since there's no profit margin, but (recently) LSD is flooding the streets, cheap as swim's ever seen it.

[Richard_smoker]

Originally Posted by Sippin40oz

Surely if these chems are legal then anyone can buy them so the profit wouldnt be a great deal. The reason Drugs are so profitable is because the are illegal and hard(ish) to get! How could u make more profit from legal chemicals then saying growing weed, importing coke or say cooking up meth? Does this seem bullshit to anyone else?!

the chems are not ILlegal, but that doesn't mean they're not still hard to find...these guys are getting legal chems from the far east and pay about as much for a kilo that the sell an ounce for in a head shop. i think it's just the supply and demand curve in action.

[cosmicruler]

"to focus on buying and selling legal chemicals"
"anaesthetics benzocaine, lignocaine and phenacetin"

Surely these are medicines and therefor classified under medicines act or similar and are therefor ILLEGAL to buy/sell if your not a registered medical practitioner!?

[Richard_smoker]

no. first of all, they're the LEAST classified, LEAST controlled of any drug. They're just local anesthetics, which means that they're numbing to mucous membranes--available in OTC toothache preps, etc.

the law would only care about average joe possessing if

1. they're actually found in a drug-bust--as in, someone gets caught USING them to cut drugs...if that were to happen in the US anyway, they count the weight of the ENTIRE LOT...if there's cocaine mixed together around some cut...they will throw it all together, and weigh it like that. similarly, anyone who puts a drop of lsd into a 16oz bottle of water will be placed in prison for 450 years.
2. in a medically-administerable (non-OTC)formulation (like in an IV bottle)...even then, it might be ok in the following situations:
   1. if you had some kind of "proof" suggesting they were for veterinary purposes
   2. if you were attached to a pharmaceutical company; either as an employee, making a run; or if you were a pharmaceutical rep...they carry drugs around in their trunks all the time. controlled and not.
   3. if you're a doctor, pharmacist, chemist, pharmacy tech, veterinarian, pet store owner, horse breeder, reverend, pastor, assistant pastor, choir director, policeman, traffic director, gun enthusiast.

-DICK

[Panthers007]

You can stroll into a chemical supply company and purchase, with little more than a purchase-order, materials that would likely require a prescription from a drug-store. Like benzocaine. And in quantities of the proverbial kilo at a cost that would buy you a gram or two in the pharmacy WITH the prescription.

[enquirewithin]

Glucose is even easier to buy.

[Richard_smoker]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

Glucose is even easier to buy.

Glu-DHM--poor man's speed; crank; jolt
Check your local laws for DHM. If you can get your hands on some Dihydrogen Monoxide, you can convert Glucose into a different STATE OF MATTER! among other things, it does make Glu injectable in this form...be careful though this around kids...ignorance of the effects of Glu-DHM on some kids is no excuse for leaving your stash lying around, or in the refrigerator. Effects on children can be absolutely mind-blowing.

[cra$h]

ah, I get it now. Thanks for the clarity. and never heard of glu-dhm. If it's poor man's speed, must be pretty dirt poor, bein speed is poor man's coke.

[Lunar Loops]

Water, water everywhere .....be careful lest you fall into the sugary abyss.

Have to say that I find this story scarcely believable. Next we'll be hearing of clandestine labs producing legal chemicals for the underworld (no, not lager).

[Pondlife]

Originally Posted by cosmicruler

Surely these are medicines and therefor classified under medicines act or similar and are therefor ILLEGAL to buy/sell if your not a registered medical practitioner!?

The medicines act only really affects suppliers, that's why it's not illegal to buy Nitrous Oxide in the UK even if you plan to inhale it, but it is illegal for the shop to sell it to you if they are selling it for that purpose and don't have a license.

However, the medicines act is rarely, if ever, enforced for street-level sales. It's more used for the occasional dodgy pharmacist that hands out prescription meds like sweets.