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Research chemicals: Difference between revisions
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[[File:640px-JWH-018.jpg|260px|thumbnail|right|[[JWH-018]] powder as it was commonly sold online]] | [[File:640px-JWH-018.jpg|260px|thumbnail|right|[[JWH-018]] powder as it was commonly sold online]] | ||
'''Research chemicals''' (also called '''RCs''', '''experimental chemicals''', '''legal highs''' or '''designer drugs''') | '''Research chemicals''' (also called '''RCs''', '''experimental chemicals''', '''legal highs''' or '''designer drugs''') refers to [[psychoactive substances]] which have unstudied effects and little to no history of medicinal use.<ref name="faq">Research Chemical FAQ - Experimental and Research Chemicals used as Psychoactives by Erowid & Murple v 1.6 - Jun 4, 2010 (Erowid) | https://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/research_chems/research_chems_faq.shtml</ref> | ||
Research chemicals typically have chemical structures and effects similar to illicit substances and are often developed to improve upon existing psychoactive substances or bypass government restrictions.<ref>Interview with a Ketamine Chemist By Hamilton Morris (Vice) | https://www.vice.com/read/interview-with-ketamine-chemist-704-v18n2</ref> Most information about research chemicals is based on first-hand experiences and anecdotal evidence. | |||
The term "research chemical" is used by online vendors to bypass legal restrictions for selling psychoactive compounds. Research chemicals commonly come in packaging labelled "not for human consumption" and are stated to be solely used for the purposes of scientific research. | |||
The use of research chemicals carries more risks than the use of more common, well-studied | The use of research chemicals carries more risks than the use of more common, well-studied substances. There have been multiple deaths caused by research chemicals, including substances in the [[25x-NBOMe|NBOMe series]], [[Bromo-DragonFLY]],<ref>Bromo-Dragonfly Fatalities / Deaths by Erowid | https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/bromo_dragonfly/bromo_dragonfly_death.shtml</ref> [[2C-T-7]], and others. | ||
==History and culture== | |||
The term "designer drug" was originally coined in the 1980s to refer to various [[heroin|heroin-like]] synthetic substances, mostly based on the [[fentanyl]] molecule (e.g. a-methylfentanyl). The term gained widespread popularity when [[MDMA]] (ecstasy) experienced a popularity boom in the mid-1980s. In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act was amended by the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement of 1986, which attempted to ban designer drugs preemptively by making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.<ref>Freye, E. (2009). History of designer drugs. In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs (pp. 183-189). Springer, Dordrecht.</ref> | |||
==Toxicity and harm potential== | ==Toxicity and harm potential== | ||