UK - Police seek ban on bulk drug-cutting chemicals

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edgarshade

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Herald Scotland

Monday 30 July 2012

With reader comments

P
OLICE are urging ministers to change the law to help crack down on drug barons caught with common chemicals used to bulk out illegal drugs.

Officers are growing increasing concerned that Scotland has become a UK staging post for the legal substances which are used to "cut" illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin in order to maximise profits.

Talks are going on between the Scottish Government and Home Office to change the law so those with large amounts of cutting agents such as benzocaine – used to cut cocaine but also used as a local anaesthetic and in cough sweets – have to prove they have the chemicals for a good reason or face court.

In the past year the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency seized 328kg of benzocaine, a significant increase on the 217kg seized in 2010/11.

Strathclyde Police seized 1200kg in the same time period.

Pharmaceutical drugs benzocaine and lidocaine cost around £10 a kilogram to buy but can be sold for up to £50,000 a kilo if mixed with cocaine.

Detective Chief Superintendent John Cuddihy said: "There's a gap in the legislation. If a 25kg drum of benzocaine is found in the boot of a car coming up the M8 in the absence of anything else in that car, we can't do anything with that.
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More...
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/police-seek-ban-on-bulk-drug-cutting-chemicals.18255563
 
Pharmaceutical drugs benzocaine and lidocaine cost around £10 a kilogram to buy
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Hmm, I think not.


But this is yet another stupid idea - anything that's white and powdery could in theory be used as a drug-cutting agent and whilst obviously some are much more popular than others banning relatively harmless cutting-agents like lidocaine is just going to mean more cuts with far more dangerous chemicals such as levamisole.

If this works at least we can look forward to this follow up article within a few years:
Talks are going on between the Scottish Government and Home Office to change the law so those with large amounts of cutting agents such as bicarbonate of soda – used to cut cocaine but also used to bake cakes – have to prove they have the chemicals for a good reason or face court.
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I am AOK with this. The amount of benzocaine that I could easily extract by taking a trip to the hospital and sitting in the room. Whenever I go to the hospital they have either lidocaine or benzocaine vials. I have one. That and 'solarcaine' the spray that is used for topical burns/sunburns etc. I am sure if I set my mind to it I could get LOTS of 'caine out of that can.
 
Benzocaine, lidocaine etc are filthy cheap in bulk. Benzocaine espxecially. It's a very simple molecule. 10l a kilo is very reasonable if you're buying 50 kilo drums.
But you didn't hear that from me :)

This is a slippery slope and will likely lead to a ban on anything that's a white powder being transported in public. Don't carry around any flour.

These should actually fall under the jurisdiction as importing and handling active pharmaceuticals. I'm fairly sure the relevant health authorities could seize 25kilo+ of anesthetic if you don't run a pharma company. There's no reason for an individual to have more than a few grams.
 
If this was going to get rid of cuts it'd be great. But sadly I think it will just replace older ones(caffeine, quinine, procaine, lactose) with other shit, perhaps more dangerous. Only way to get rid of cuts is to legalize and regulate drugs.

Colombia should have the death penalty for levamisole;).
 
The only cutting going on when it comes to drugs should be with a razor blade into lines.:\
 
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