Misc Asking African Blue lighters: Are Quaaludes actually prevalent down there?

[Chiefmoe]

Simpliar answer anything available just gotta know wer...out of that culture just browsing the net. Adios

Not in too much or wasn't besides opiates...But nothing strong enough to compare with illegal stuff...so otc stuff codiene etc..I don't get the ketamine thing it doesn't make you sleep different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

[dalpat077]

Here's a little (very very old) nugget that I found in an obscure corner of YouTube!

Posting it here because this question of South Africa having manufactured Mandrax for crowd control has been of interest to more than a few around here i.e. it's been brought up and hypothesized about many times.

Now as to to the authenticity of this video or the content contained therein I cannot comment. I don't know who these people are and who knows if they're covering their own backsides (bearing in mind this was post 1994 and the apartheid era and investigations were still underway). It was produced in 2000 for our National Broadcaster. Interesting (to me) anyway. Seems are though we were ahead of the curve back in the day at least insofar as chemical and biological weapons were concerned. Turns out there was some idea to produce MDMA by the metric ton! Whatever the case: turns out it'd have been impractical if not nigh on impossible to use either Mandrax or MDMA for crowd control i.e. how do you deliver/disperse/target it?

 

[Coffeeshroom]

lol this is getting old.

 

[dalpat077]

lol this is getting old.

Actually. I posted that with a sense of pride i.e. not to perpetuate the myth!

I never realized we were fucking about with biological weapons and the extent to which we had our shit together back then. Regardless of intent at the time: apparently pretty ground breaking stuff is my point.

But we're perceived as some half arsed country in the toilet of Africa. Look what's just happened. We managed to identify and sequence this new COVID variant and we're now getting kicked in the ass for our trouble. Seems to me we'd have been better off in keeping our traps shut about it! Not to mention our dude in Natal that last year managed to produce in a laboratory whatever COVID strain was going around at the time (first time it'd been done). There's probably a video link somewhere around these parts (possibly even on this thread for all I know) about this.

 

[Coffeeshroom]

but im just honestly tired of this question. Just fly down to S.A. and ask the oke on the street corner and "bAm" you have some mandrax.

 

[dalpat077]

but im just honestly tired of this question. Just fly down to S.A. and ask the oke on the street corner and "bAm" you have some mandrax.

Oh. Sorry. I thought you were referring to the Mandrax/Apartheid Government conspiracy theory and the video that I scraped from the ass of YouTube.

 

[Coffeeshroom]

Oh. Sorry. I thought you were referring to the Mandrax/Apartheid Government conspiracy theory and the video that I scraped from the ass of YouTube.

lol i was just refering to the not stop question of if we still get it here, and answer yes yes yes yes yes yes. lol but more then anybody you know more then me but i know i can take a 5 min drive now and go score mandrax.

 

[Coffeeshroom]

@dalpat077 maybe we can have drink again and catch up and see what new in each others life's. Let me KNow

 

[dalpat077]

Just fly down to S.A. and ask the oke on the street corner and "bAm" you have some mandrax.

Yeah. And if you're REALLY lucky we'll throw in some Cocaine, H, weed, Alprazolam, treatment resistant Tuberculosis, HIV, and Omicron! At R16.07 ZAR to $1 USD it's an absolute steal.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yeah. And if you're REALLY lucky we'll throw in some Cocaine, H, weed, Alprazolam, treatment resistant Tuberculosis, HIV, and Omicron! At R16.07 ZAR to $1 USD it's an absolute steal.

Can I come? I have manantine and am dissociated as fuck. So maybe I dont know what I am writting? But cocaine + H ,+ @dalpat077 + mandrax + omicron and all that in SA - count me in! But then again I don't know when memantine will ware off so I am probably just writing rubbish for the sake of it. Now I will post reply. Bye bye. ❤

 

[dalpat077]

Can I come? I have manantine and am dissociated as fuck. So maybe I dont know what I am writting? But cocaine + H ,+ @dalpat077 + mandrax + omicron and all that in SA - count me in! But then again I don't know when memantine will ware off so I am probably just writing rubbish for the sake of it. Now I will post reply. Bye bye. ❤

Wow! That memantine must be some good and pretty powerful stuff.

weed, Alprazolam, treatment resistant Tuberculosis, HIV, and Omicron

So can I sign you up for the Deluxe package that includes all of the above?

 

[Coffeeshroom]

So can I sign you up for the Deluxe package that includes all of the above?

You forgot the herpies and other STD's



Sidenote: Now that i think about it, we can do an East rand, South rand, North rand and West rand Packages, all with there own specially tourism mission () if you know what i mean.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Wow! That memantine must be some good and pretty powerful stuff.

Taken with pregabalin it sure is. Unfortunately will have to cancel the trip caouse this trip with memantine is keeping me glued to the bed. No more, I have to land now. Sorry for interfering.

 

[Sidenote]

Fuck SA. The fact is, if you have the money, or something they otherwise perceive as "good trade", the many ex communist Chinese chemists will cook you up pretty much anything you can dream of.
As for couriers... that's a whole other question.

 

[Imaginarium]

My sincere apologies for my tardiness and for not responding yesterday as promised. That's out-of-character for me to be honest. Just one of those days yesterday I'm afraid. You know those days I'm sure.

Before continuing though: I think some accord me more than my due. And while it's obviously very flattering and very much appreciated: please do bear in mind that I'm no expert on synthesis. In that respect: I'm no better than the next guy with a reliable Internet connection and time on their hands. That said: I've more than a passing or casual interest in narcotics, generally, as well as pharmaceuticals, generally, and do seem to have a knack for research (fueled by a healthy dose of relentlessness bordering on the obsessive). I also do make a best effort attempt to keep myself updated with certain trends and statistics and legislation etc. But I'm no chemistry major. Mind you: there's an irony in that statement that's more than just a little amusing.

But thanks to those that appreciate my work!

I'm not quite sure just how much more I can contribute to this topic though. But I'll give it a bash.

Before continuing let me say this:

I stand corrected re: my up-to-date statistics. After much (and I do mean much) searching I cannot, for love nor money, find the statistics to which I was referring in my previous post. And I swear I was looking at them not two weeks ago. But there's, evidently anyway, the very real possibility that I was confusing myself with the DEA's detailed reports and/or those of the UNODC. Maybe I was dreaming too i.e. don't laugh but I've dreamed about the DEA's National Drug Threat Assessment reports more than once (maybe the universe is trying to tell me something! ).

Anyways. While our national crime statistics are indeed released quarterly they do not drill down far enough insofar as drug use and abuse and trafficking is concerned. There's a live feed on law enforcement's website and that details crimes as they are dealt with by law enforcement in real-time and there's details of drug busts every so often, mainly Mandrax I would say, but it's of no use for statistical purposes. And anecdotally: just about every other week there's some or the other Mandrax bust that's gone down as reported by national radio news. Point being: it's prolific. It was ranked number three by the UNODC on the list of choice substances (after Cannabis and Alcohol) (Alcohol coming in top-of-the-pops here i.e. we sure do know how to drink) but things appear to have changed since then i.e. the latest report I can find, dated 2020, but referencing 2018 data, indicates that the substances most used in South Africa include Cannabis, Methaqualone, Methamphetamine, and Heroin. Apparently (from news reports) we're now seeing potent "Afghan Meth." on the streets and Mexican Heroin. Cocaine use, of course, will always be steady as she goes (told ya: God's creation! ). But, it would appear to me anyway, that much of these statistics are conflicting. depend on what the information is and where it comes from, and how it's interpreted of course. All I can tell you for sure is that Mandrax hits the headlines more than anything else.

Prohibitionist Drug Policy in South Africa—Reasons and Effects

1 Introduction It was early evening when Taariq, aged 30, arrived at the emergency room of a public hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. He had recently transitioned from smoking to injecting hero...

journals.openedition.org

The most widely-used drugs in South Africa

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime’s (UNODC) latest World Drug Report for 2020 reveals the latest trends in global drug use – including the impact of Covid-19.

businesstech.co.za

Directly back to the topic:

This taken from a document, released in 2020, entitled "NATIONAL DRUG MASTER PLAN 4TH EDITION | 2019 TO 2024 | SOUTH AFRICA FREE OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE":

"Methaqualone (Mandrax)

Methaqualone is a sedative and hypnotic drug that was marketed as Quaalude in the United States and Mandrax in South Africa and the UK. No longer legally available, but still produced in India, Mandrax is most commonly used in South Africa, particularly in the Western Cape where it is also referred to as “buttons” because of the round shape of the pill. The pill is usually crushed and smoked with cannabis using the broken-off neck of a glass bottle. Mandrax has been commonly used to relax and self-medicate for decades by gang members in the Western Cape, and is therefore reported to provide significant revenue essential to the economic survival of gangs."


Last but not least: synthesis and precursors. The below as per the UNDCP (in their invaluable document that details the most common precursors used for most illicit manufacture of drugs and, of course, what's on the various watch lists):

"The most favoured method for the illicit manufacture of methaqualone is by reacting N-acetylanthranilic acid with o-toluidine in the presence of phosphoruss oxychloride or trichloride. In many cases, the N-acetylanthranilic acid used as precursor has itself been prepared by traffickers by reacting anthranilic acid with acetic anhydride or by a combination of acetic anhydride with acetic acid. 1.25 kg. of N-acetylanthranilic acid or one kilogram of anthranilic acid will yield one kilogram of methaqualone."

I'm sure there'll be chemist or two that will disagree with the above or have an improvement (sometimes I wonder just how jacked up these various agencies are in reality). And there's probably a synthesis detailed on good 'ol Erowid as well (I've not looked myself). But it's clear that there's more than one watched substance required. And which makes this drug interesting. Given that there is a demand for our Abalone and stuff like Rhino horn: precursors are traded for the same. This drug has its very own little thriving underground economy.


Oops. Nearly forgot. Political history!

There's a story going around (more than one article) that our previous government (prior to 1994) had a program going to synthesize this stuff en masse and postulating that this could be used for crowd control. I don't buy it. And the so-called evidence is wanting at best. It smacks, to me, as being no different an idea than the so-called Crack epidemic in the USA of yesteryear i.e. the government flooding the streets with the same. And I can tell you: knowing South African's the way I do then, if anything, it'd have been an excuse to attend a rally or to riot or to demonstrate and certainly not a deterrent!


And that's about it from my side really. Any questions?


In closing: not my thing at all. But I've been around one or two or three that have smoked these "white pipes" referenced. And it's always fucking perplexed me how come they hit the shit standing up or sitting on the toilet! This as opposed to sitting on the ground so that they don't have too far to fall! To each their own I guess!

Hi @dalpat077,

Thanks for all information about methaqualone in South Africa. You're absolutely right when you identify a lack of data regarding prevalence of its use. Currently, no population size estimates of the number of people who use methaqualone exist, however, we have just completed the data collection for a study here using respondent-driven sampling and network size methods across 10 cities - so hopefully some more information coming out in the near future. One interesting finding was its use in areas, often in different presses (Fig.1), outside of Cape Town, where its prevalence of use has always been greatest.

Currently, the only publicly available data on it's use comes from the South African Community Network on Drug Use (SACENDU), which provides self-reported surveillance data from drug-use disorder treatment centres across the country. These data are affected by selection bias, as financial and geographical barriers limit access. However, since 2018 community-based harm reduction services are now included in the surveillance system. Given the barriers to access to treatment, these data on methaqualone (and other drugs) use are gross under-estimates, but do provide insight into proportionality.

With reference to the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992, methaqualone is not legal in South Africa and can't be prescribed. Further, any other preparation containing methaqualone and known by any other trade name (e.g. Quaalude). Despite the legal status, its prevalence is increasing over recent years.

Except for analyses done by the South African Police Service's Forensic Unit on seized samples, there hasn't been any quantitative chemical analyses (e.g. FT-IR, GC-MS) with subsequent publicly available results on methaqualone tablets, so the chemical composition of different presses is largely unknown. I've used colorimetric tests and thin-layer chromatography on several different presses, but noting the limitations of these methods, we are currently exploring other routes for analyses.

Figure 1. Photograph of methaqualone tablet. The tablet weighed 1,4g and has been found in various provinces.

​

 

[Tranced]

I wish The South Africans would do their part for EADD and just release the methaqualone to us.

We just need to see, at least once, don't you understand. It evades us and we worked our way through the RC's until we got banned from even trying to import them.

Religious folk go on pilgramage to visit holy sites. We just want to behold and neck the mystical Mandrake.

Stop keeping it to yourselves. We need it too. It's obviously better than you're making out.