What I am about to say below is in no way a criticism of the original poster, as a majority of contributors to this and other forums are referring to this substance, however it provides an ideal opportunity for me to say what I have wanted to say about this substance and the references being made to it, for some time now.
Whilst I do not doubt there are serious issues with the quality of much of the Methamphetamine the world over, especially here and in some parts of the USA, isopropylbenzylamine has become the default explanation being used by basically everyone for any meth which can look and behave like meth should but which has signifcantly reduced desirable effects and often nasty side effects on top of that; this is despite there not being a shred of recent evidence that positively confirms that it was found in a batch of meth. Whatever people are experiencing is plainly active on the peripheral nervous and cardiovascular system in fairly modest amounts. It is far from inactive in the physiological sense.
I know someone who is privy to countless drug seizure analysis results and in WA at least, IBA has never come up in any analysis of any substance being sold as meth or anything else which might be being utilised as a cutting agent. MSM on the other hand is regularly detected. I also recently asked a chemist friend of mine who had cause to speak to a government chemist about this very issue and whilst the government forensic chemist knew of the substance and that it was being spoken about on user forums and supposedly found in seizures in other places, the WA laboratory had not seen it yet.
Meth is such a big problem in WA that if a new substance was being detected with high frequency and in significant proportions along with a piss poor amount of methylamphetamine (or even without), then it would be reported by that laboratory and it simply has not. It also has not cracked a mention in the ACIC illicit drug annual reports, the European Drug Data (EMCDDA) Reports or the United Nations ones. Anything new, especially in seizures of this particular drug which is so frequently encountered and the focus of most drug investigations and prosecutions in this country, would be identified and reported to law enforcement and other government agencies (such as health and research ones).
Now I do not doubt for one moment that someone wrong is going on and has been for some while, but this constant labelling of the problem as ISO could well be preventing the real issue being discovered.
Other potential explanatiosn include:
- the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine precursors are now not pure L isomer or pure D isomer respectively (either of which produces pure D meth) but racemic ephedrine which produces D/L meth, or worse still the wrong isomer entirely producing pure L meth; this explanation is likely given the average purity of meth in WA, for seizures over 2 grams, is 60 to 70%. So the problem cannot be some unknown chemical unless it is only plaguing street users at the absolute bottom of the food chain purchasing only very small amounts at the time. Near pure L meth will test the same purity as near pure D meth, with the analysis certificate leaving one none the wiser as to why such high purity gear sucks arse
- there is a lot of unreacted ephedrine or pseudoephedrine in the gear which just turns the whole experience to shit
- it is P2P produced meth (far less likely from China; more of an issue in the States) which has been crystallised into a weird mess of D and L isomers
- different precursors such as chloroephedrine are being used, producing who knows what impurities that have nasty effects
- different crystallization or recrystallisation techniques are being used (including from gear dissolved in any number of liquids) which are leaving behind toxic or nasty chemicals which may well be the cause of the burnt tyre smells or terrible changes to gear once heated
Or it could of course be a chemical like ISO but any number of other potential candidates from benzylamine family, or any substance for that matter.
For me, the shoddy dreadful nasty gear has all the hallmarks of being or having high concentrations of L- Methamphetamine, this chemical producing many of the peripheral, vasoconstriction and psychological effects that this IBA supposedly has. I also think the ephedrine/pseudo precursors being used may be a darn sight poorer in quality than they once were. But hey, that is me speculating.
Which is exactly what everyone who is mentioning ISO as a culprit for every bad batch of gear is doing as well. Until someone has a substance tested which confirms its presence, I am banking on this being one gigantic urban myth. The presence of ISO being supposedly at pandemic proportions in this country is simply inconsistent with the high purities of meth being constantly seized and analyzed; and further, it is inconceivable that such a situation which would demand further enquiry, is not being actively discussed amongst the chemists, law enforcement bodies and illicit drug researchers at the minute (or otherwise reported in their respective publications, including some that are not released to the public).
Basically, the overall point I want to drive home is that we must keep an open mind on this issue until there is proof; and once there is such proof, then hopefully more can be meaningfully done to fix this sorry, and at times downright dangerous, state of affairs!!
