Frank Hovis Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I first came across this maybe twenty years ago in the US (I've never taken it btw before anybody reads anything into that) when I bought a paper in a rural area and it seemed like half the stories were busts of crystal meth "labs"; that word a wild over-statement given that it can be at the basic level "cooked up" using a coffee percolator in a hotel room using cheap widely-available ingredients. I thought I'd spotted something that would as prevelant in the UK in a few years. Why wouldn't it be - drugs as potent as heroin that you can make yourself. However it seemed that we don't have that DIY ethos here that they do in the US and it didn't happen. Until now. Ok it's taken a lot of TV promotion (Breaking Bad) and the homebrewing is happening in the Czech Republic; but it's finally jumped the pond. Coming to a rural location near you soon. The shocking rise in crystal meth usage across the UK and Europe could be down to the influence of hit TV show Breaking Bad, a leading academic has warned. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has revealed how parts of the EU are now being flooded with methamphetamine. Germany in particular has seen the highest surge in usage of the Class-A drug reporting a worrying rise of 51 per cent. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11206140/Breaking-Bad-blamed-for-shocking-rise-in-crystal-meth-usage.html Effects? Well in the US this was overtaking other hard drugs and with the ability to make it yourself it could have a devastating effect on the poppy trade; the big source of Taliban funding. It's an ill wind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interestrateripoff Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Meth I don't think fits the house scene which is where much of the drug use was 20 years ago. I'm sure if you could have made E's in a home made lab the story would have been different. Why buy drugs when you can make it yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cica Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Germany in particular has seen the highest surge in usage of the Class-A drug reporting a worrying rise of 51 per cent. Is Breaking Bad particularly popular in Germany? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtomsilver2 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 How will it be possible to pay more?.....falling living costs is far more preferable, should help those that earn the least......anyway they say that there is a shortage of doctors earning up to and sometimes beyond £100k pa.....surely any occupation that pays that should be a popular career to enter.....or is there a shortage because we can't afford to pay for more let alone pay them more? A few years back I read an article in a weekend supplement about another home-brew concoction sweeping Africa and the former USSR. Desomorphine/ Krokodil which in it's impure state (ie outside of a labarotary) has horrific consequences, think petrol running through the body as that's what's used in the mix together with codeine. There are cases coming up in the UK now of unscrupulous (sarcasm) heroin dealers substituting the real deal for this stuff. [/shudder] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Miyagi Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Isn't it the case that the raw ingredients to make meth aren't easily obtainable in Europe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John51 Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 A druggie girl I knew 2 years ago reckoned that there were no crystal meth dealers in Liverpool. Reason being that it was so addictive that users would target the dealer if they couldn't find/steal the cash. That might have been just the dealers she knew. E's never really took off in the states and PCP wasn't popular here. Must be a cultural thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChumpusRex Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Isn't it the case that the raw ingredients to make meth aren't easily obtainable in Europe? I think that the basic materials for small scale production are more easily available here than in the US, where they cracked down very hard, very quickly once methamphetamine became a problem. This may not have been the case historically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 they should make the real drugs from plants legal. the price would drop, people could buy the real stuff safely. Wouldnt need all this homemade stuff. Menwhile, thousands killed and injured in every country due to Alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Its really not straight forward to get hold of what you need to make crystal meth. Its probably easier to get hold of everything you need to make crack cocaine. And considering the main ingredient in crack is officially illegal, that's saying something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I think that the basic materials for small scale production are more easily available here than in the US, where they cracked down very hard, very quickly once methamphetamine became a problem. This may not have been the case historically. Pseudoephedrine is pharmacy only so I guess it would be tough to get it in any meaningful quantities, the odd pack maybe but that's going to give you less than 1g of ingredient to work with, how far's that going to get you? Are any of the other synthesis methods easier in the UK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChumpusRex Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Pseudoephedrine is pharmacy only so I guess it would be tough to get it in any meaningful quantities, the odd pack maybe but that's going to give you less than 1g of ingredient to work with, how far's that going to get you? Are any of the other synthesis methods easier in the UK? It is pharmacy only, but it is available OTC in reasonable pack sizes. A group of 3 or 4 buyers in London, could obtain kg quantities over a month without arousing too much suspicion. It's more tightly restricted in the US, with dispensing records having to be treated like prescription records together with ID, and very small pack sizes. Methylamine, benzyl chloride are unregulated in the EU, whereas they are class I restricted (methylamine) or class II (Benzyl Cl) chemicals in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 It is pharmacy only, but it is available OTC in reasonable pack sizes. A group of 3 or 4 buyers in London, could obtain kg quantities over a month without arousing too much suspicion. Interesting, but I wonder if that is commercially viable. Sudafed comes in packs of 12 with 60mg per tablet, that's 720mg per pack, to be getting kg quantities you'd need ~1,500 packets at say £3.50 each so £5,250 in total plus the cost of running the buyers and simple things like transporting them around and I doubt you'd be getting much change out of £10,000 just for the raw ingredients. Interesting that Methlamine is unregulated since a significant part of BB's plot revolved around sourcing that chemical, sounds like that would be the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 You all know a smashing amount about illegal drugs! I am in awe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 When you can quite easily here get a pill for a tenner that will ****** you up all night - why would you bother ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 When you can quite easily here get a pill for a tenner that will ****** you up all night - why would you bother ? I suspect the real reason that meth hasn't caught on over here is heroin, both being serious junkie drugs rather than recreational ones. I'm not 100% sure but I get the impression that heroin isn't readily available in the US so it's a choice between meth and crack cocaine; in Europe heroin is more available and cheap so comes out as the junkie's drug of choice. Just a question of where their narcotics come from, their's come from S.America so it's cocaine or synthesised drugs, our's tend to come in from Asia so opiates feature more heavily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Is crack cocaine more expensive than heroin ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long time lurking Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Isn't it the case that the raw ingredients to make meth aren't easily obtainable in Europe? You can by every thing you need on the local high-street but they will need distilling/separating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
long time lurking Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Is crack cocaine more expensive than heroin ? Yes bang for the buck heroin is about as cheap as it gets now Mcat has been made illegal,but apparently Mcat is becoming a massive problem as its still freely available compared to heroin (according to a mate whose a social worker/probation officer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 It is pharmacy only, but it is available OTC in reasonable pack sizes. A group of 3 or 4 buyers in London, could obtain kg quantities over a month without arousing too much suspicion. It's more tightly restricted in the US, with dispensing records having to be treated like prescription records together with ID, and very small pack sizes. Methylamine, benzyl chloride are unregulated in the EU, whereas they are class I restricted (methylamine) or class II (Benzyl Cl) chemicals in the US. The regulation status is of little consequence. No one that legitimately supplies either methylamine or benzyl chloride in useful quantities would actually sell you any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Is crack cocaine more expensive than heroin ? LTL has answered but I think the other point is that the crack high is very short lived (5-10 minutes) wheras the effects of heroin are much longer lasting. p.s. Wikipedia puts Europe prices for heroin itro €35-€40 but the US as $172 but this may be out of date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyguy Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Heroin appears to be cheaper than booze. Crystal meths is a bit like like country music - it has a very small following over this side of the Atlantic. It appears popular on the gay scene but seems to limited outside of it. Im too old fashioned to bother with mcat, It seems popular with the kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 The regulation status is of little consequence. No one that legitimately supplies either methylamine or benzyl chloride in useful quantities would actually sell you any. If its unregulated why wouldn't they ? Its just business after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChumpusRex Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 If its unregulated why wouldn't they ? Its just business after all. Most chemical suppliers in the UK are very pro-active about contacting the police if they have any suspicions. I've heard of people getting a call from Inspector Knacker after buying 2 litres of isopropanol for vinyl record cleaning. Apparently, the supplier had tipped off the police about a purchase of a "dangerous chemical". I'd imagine the same for drug precursors - regulated or not, there may well be a tip-off to the police before the chemicals are supplied if you aren't a known corporate customer operating in a particular industry Whether that extends to getting stuff shipped in from China in bulk quantities, I don't know. A quick search on alibaba reveals numerous suppliers in India and China that are willing to supply all relevant chemicals in multi-ton quantities. If you are importing bulk chemicals which aren't regulated, I don't know how much interest customs would have. Not that I'm willing to test this theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sPinwheel Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Wikipedia provides drug prices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 If its unregulated why wouldn't they ? Its just business after all. Because chemicals suppliers tend to be choosy about who they sell to. Try it, give sigma-aldrich a call and try to buy some methylamine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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