Finding the Safest Risk: Acquiring Chemicals and Precursors for Clandestine Chemistry

• In Event: Researching Illicit Markets: Online, Offline and In-Between

Abstract

Conventional drug trafficking and online drug markets are topics of interests, but before the drug is shipped, it must be manufacture. However, due to the difficulty for researchers to have access to clandestine drug manufacturers, little is known on synthetic drug production. Drug production rely on multiples steps that needs to be executed successfully, with one of the first steps being acquiring the chemicals and the necessary equipment. The literature on how the chemists get the chemicals is sparse, to fill the gap, the community of clandestine chemist on online forums will provide an opportunity to collect information on how and where the chemicals and the precursors are acquired. These online communities have no borders; thus, they provide a worldwide view of the phenomenon. Multiple threads regarding chemicals will be analyzed qualitatively to shed light on the better and worse ways to obtain the chemicals and precursors. The results suggest that clandestine chemist share the risks involved in acquiring the different chemicals and precursors which are greatly dependent on the illegality or legality of the chemical. The drug forums may be a way to exchange information on chemical purchases, on the risks of getting detected and even on getting scammed.

Author

• Sabrina Vidal, Université de Montréal