CLANDESTINE DRUG LABORATORIES
Illicit drugs that do not occur naturally must be manufactured somewhere. If legitimate drug companies manufacture them, then they can be obtained for abuse by either stealing them from the manufacturing plant or warehouse or from a doctor or pharmacy or by forging a prescription. Drugs that are manufactured in other countries can be smuggled into this country. For some drugs there are no legitimate manufacturing plants or, if there are, it may still be difficult to obtain these drugs by the aforementioned route. The alternative is then the clandestine drug laboratory. For LSD, PCP, ecstasy, and other popular abused drugs, clandestine manufacture is the only way to get them. For amphetamine and methamphetamine, which are legally manufactured, the clandestine laboratory is still the most popular source. There are numerous books and internet sites that have recipes for manufacturing various drugs. Using these recipes and some fairly rudimentary chemicals, glass ware, containers, and appliances, one can manufacture huge quantities of illicit drugs—if one has a source for the chemicals. It used to be fairly easy to obtain precursor chemicals from chemical supply houses or chemistry laboratories, but in recent years, this has become much more difficult. Chemical suppliers are more particular about who they will furnish drugs to and will report large sales of chemicals that are suspected to be precursors of popular illicit drugs to the Drug Enforcement Administration or the police. In addition, the Federal Government and many state governments now control the distribution of precursor chemicals by putting them in a Federal Schedule, making their distribution much more difficult. In spite of all of these efforts, illegal manufacture of illicit drugs goes on and in some areas of the country, is on the rise. As one might expect, the sophistication of clandestine laboratories varies widely. Some laboratories are extremely modern and would be the envy of a legal manufacturer. Most, however, are rudimentary, dangerous, filthy places with virtually no health and safety precautions. In fact, this characteristic is one of the more prominent reasons why clandestine laboratories are discovered. Huge piles of trash containing many chemical containers or strange smells emanating from the drug laboratory can tip off neighbors who then call the police. Fires and explosions also occur occasion ally in clandestine laboratories. Some clandestine laboratories can be set up in the trunk of an automobile or station wagon. Sometimes laboratories will be set up in rented motel rooms or apartments or even abandoned buildings. A typical clandestine drug laboratory is shown in Figure 1. When drug enforcement agents are alerted to the possible presence of a clan destine laboratory by neighbors or by reports of the purchase of precursor chemicals, they will generally set up surveillance or use undercover agents to discover what is being produced and at what stage the production is. The best strategy is to wait until the final product has been produced. If the arrest takes place at this point, the doers can be charged with manufacture of an illicit drug and possession with an intent to distribute that drug. These offences carry the stiffest penalties. If, however, the laboratory is raided before the final product has been made, then the government can only charge the suspects with attempted manufacture. Thiscrime generally carries lesser charges than does manufacture, and the govern ment must prove that the final product could have been produced with the chemicals, apparatus, and recipes that were found at the laboratory. Such prosecutions are much more difficult than those for manufacture. It is worth noting that people who grow marihuana plants, peyote cactus, or psilocybin mushrooms in their home or on their property are also charged with manufacture if they are caught.
FIGURE 1 A portion of a clandestine methamphetamine laboratory. Note the messy, dangerous conditions, conducive to a destructive fire.
