Lacing (drugs)

The extent of cutting can vary significantly over time but for the last 15 years drugs such as heroin and cocaine have often sat at the 50% purity level.

[citation needed] Coomber,[2] after having street heroin seizures from the UK re-analysed, reported that nearly 50% of the samples had no cutting agents present at all.

This means that 50% of street heroin in the UK in 1995 had worked its way from producer to user without being cut at any stage, although other adulterants may have been present.

Some fake drugs consist of substances from relatively harmless sources, such as grocery store goods like flour, oregano or allergy pills.

[citation needed] A related, yet distinct, problem is the trade of counterfeit medications with pills including substances such as fentanyl which can be used recreationally.

At various points in the supply chain, in order to maximize profitability, many drugs are adulterated with cutting agents.

Less expensive or easier to obtain compounds with similar chemical properties may be used to lace heavily adulterated drugs while still maintaining some psychoactive potency.

[9] Heroin is commonly cut with quinine, caffeine, dimethocaine, lidocaine, procaine, lactose, inositol, dextrose, mannitol, and starch.

Fentanyl sold as or laced into heroin has made the news in the past due to the numerous fatalities it causes when it appears on the market.

[citation needed] Other of agranulocytosis, including 2 deaths, according to an alert from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Cannabis products that are laced are usually laced with synthetic cannabinoids: Less common psychoactive substances used to adulterate cannabis: Weight cutting agents: Black market ecstasy pills are frequently found to contain other drugs in place of or in addition to methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA).

3,4-Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), methylenedioxyethamphetamine (MDEA), amphetamine, methylamphetamine, benzylpiperazine (BZP), trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP), caffeine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and dextromethorphan (DXM) are all commonly found in pills being sold as ecstasy.

Recently, several groups advocating for drug safety through education have made reagent testing products available to confirm what substances there are.

In June 2022, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority warned that the 3-liter champagne bottle from Moët & Chandon Ice Impérial contained MDMA, killing a person in Germany.

[49] A drug called Voodoo that has gained popularity among Egyptian youth, intoxicated seventy-one individuals, and killed two, in 2017.

The drug samples contained synthetic cannabinoids, amphetamine, tramadol, methadone, MDA, benzodiazepines, morphine derivatives, and penitrem A (a neurotoxin).