Attempts to control synthetic drug trade resemble futile efforts made by record labels to control digital piracy decade ago.
The factory was on an industrial estate near the airport in Shanghai, surrounded by plants churning out legitimate chemicals for the agricultural, perfumery and pharmaceutical trades. This one also made synthetic recreational drugs on an industrial scale. The scene was grim: filthy chemical reaction vessels, dirty-coated workers scurrying about with solvents. Like the protagonist in the film Scarface, the owner sat surrounded by shipping barrels and kilo parcels of drugs ready for export. However, his product is legal.
I'd been chatting with the owner, one of China's biggest mephedrone vendors, for a few months, setting up a deal – or more accurately, an exposé. I wanted to see inside this factory where tonnes of new, legal drugs had already been manufactured and couriered to the UK and EU. This is the reality of part of the new drugs scene – chemistry firms in many Chinese provinces are churning out modified versions of illegal drugs and selling them online. Everything from amphetamine-like stimulants to ecstasy-like substances as well as thousands of synthetic cannabinoids is available. The drugs – which have no history of human use – skirt the law by subtle molecular manipulation. Safety isn't a priority – profit is.
