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Cutting Agent
A cutting agent is a chemical used to "cut" ( dilute or adulterate) recreational drugs with something less expensive than the drug itself. Overview The classical model of drug cutting, according to Preble and Casey (1969), refers to the way that illicit drugs were diluted at each stage of the chain of distribution. Drug markets have changed considerably since the 1980s; greater competition, and a shift from highly structured (and thus controlled) to greatly fragmented markets, has generated competition among dealers in terms of purity. Many drugs that reach the street are now only cut at the manufacture/producer stage, and this may be more a matter of lacing the drug with another substance designed to appeal to the consumer, as opposed to simple diluents that increase the profit for the seller. 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. Heroin purity sitting at 50% ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adulterant
An adulterant is caused by the act of adulteration, a practice of secretly mixing a substance with another. Typical substances that are adulterated include but are not limited to food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fuel, or other chemicals, that compromise the safety or effectiveness of the said substance. It will not normally be present in any specification or declared substances due to accident or negligence rather than intent, and also for the introduction of unwanted substances after the product has been made. Adulteration, therefore, implies that the adulterant was introduced deliberately in the initial manufacturing process, or sometimes that it was present in the raw materials and should have been removed, but was not. An adulterant is distinct from, for example, permitted food preservatives. There can be a fine line between adulterant and additive; chicory may be added to coffee to reduce the cost or achieve a desired flavor—this is adulteration if not declared, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lacing (drugs)
Lacing or cutting, are drug slangs for the act of using a substance (referred to by the slang terms lacing agent or cutting agent) to adulterate substances independent of the reason. The resulting substance are refereed by the slang terms laced or cut. Some street drugs are commonly laced with other chemicals for various reasons, but it is most commonly done so as to bulk up the original product or to sell other, cheaper drugs in the place of something more expensive. Individuals sometimes lace their own drugs with another substance to combine or alter the physiological or psychoactive effects. Types of lacing agents Non-psychoactive lacing agents Visually mimics Some fake drugs consist of substances from relatively harmless sources, such as grocery store goods like flour, oregano or allergy pills. Even despite the substances' harmlessness, legal penalties for the crime of selling them can include time in jail. Flavor masker Sometimes a flavor masker are added to g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diluent
A diluent (also referred to as a filler, dilutant or thinner) is a diluting agent. Certain fluids are too viscous to be pumped easily or too dense to flow from one particular point to the other. This can be problematic, because it might not be economically feasible to transport such fluids in this state. To ease this restricted movement, diluents are added. This decreases the viscosity of the fluids, thereby also decreasing the pumping/transportation costs. One industrial application is the transport of crude oil via pipelines. Heavy crude oil/bitumen are fluids with high viscosity, especially at low temperatures. The addition of a diluent enables the diluted fluid (dilbit in the case of bitumen) to meet pipeline specifications in order for it to be efficiently transported. Typical diluent in this case is naphtha or condensate. Types of diluents more familiar to the general public include paint thinner and nail polish thinner, both of which improve the consistency and appl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mannitol
Mannitol is a type of sugar alcohol used as a sweetener and medication. It is used as a low calorie sweetener as it is poorly absorbed by the intestines. As a medication, it is used to decrease pressure in the eyes, as in glaucoma, and to lower increased intracranial pressure. Medically, it is given by injection or inhalation. Effects typically begin within 15 minutes and last up to 8 hours. Common side effects from medical use include electrolyte problems and dehydration. Other serious side effects may include worsening heart failure and kidney problems. It is unclear if use is safe in pregnancy. Mannitol is in the osmotic diuretic family of medications and works by pulling fluid from the brain and eyes. The discovery of mannitol is attributed to Joseph Louis Proust in 1806. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It was originally made from the flowering ash and called manna due to its supposed resemblance to the Biblical food. Mannit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soluble
In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution. The extent of the solubility of a substance in a specific solvent is generally measured as the concentration of the solute in a saturated solution, one in which no more solute can be dissolved. At this point, the two substances are said to be at the solubility equilibrium. For some solutes and solvents, there may be no such limit, in which case the two substances are said to be "miscible in all proportions" (or just "miscible"). The solute can be a solid, a liquid, or a gas, while the solvent is usually solid or liquid. Both may be pure substances, or may themselves be solutions. Gases are always miscible in all proportions, except in very extreme situations,J. de Swaan Arons and G. A. M. Diepen (1966): "Gas—Gas Equilibria". ''Journal of Chemical Physics'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vaping-associated Pulmonary Injury
Vaping-associated pulmonary injury (VAPI), also known as vaping-associated lung injury (VALI) or e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (E/VALI), is an umbrella term, used to describe lung diseases associated with the use of vaping products that can be severe and life-threatening. Symptoms can initially mimic common pulmonary diagnoses, such as pneumonia, but sufferers typically do not respond to antibiotic therapy. Differential diagnoses have overlapping features with VAPI, including COVID-19. According to an article in the Radiological Society of North America news published in March 2022, EVALI cases continue to be diagnosed. “EVALI has by no means disappeared,” Dr. Kligerman said. “We continue to see numerous cases, even during the pandemic, many of which are initially misdiagnosed as COVID-19.” Sufferers usually present for care within a few days to weeks of symptom onset. Starting, in September 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isopropylbenzylamine
-isopropylbenzylamine is a compound that has appeared in chemical literature often playing an intermediary role in applications of experimental synthesis and novel organic transformations. Despite having limited documented uses, it is most well known for having previously come to the attention of the DEA due to being used by illicit methamphetamine manufacturers as a diluent of or substitute for methamphetamine, with many recorded sightings occurring in the years 2007-2008. As of 2018, researchers from the DEA associated with the Methamphetamine Profiling Program, which categorizes route-specific and other impurities in seized drug samples, has stated that isopropylbenzylamine appears only "occasionally". This compound is a chain isomer of methamphetamine that exhibits the same chemical formula and molar mass giving their hydrochloride salts similar physical properties, such as relatively close melting points and comparable appearance. Consequently, it can be used as a substitute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lacing (drugs)
Lacing or cutting, are drug slangs for the act of using a substance (referred to by the slang terms lacing agent or cutting agent) to adulterate substances independent of the reason. The resulting substance are refereed by the slang terms laced or cut. Some street drugs are commonly laced with other chemicals for various reasons, but it is most commonly done so as to bulk up the original product or to sell other, cheaper drugs in the place of something more expensive. Individuals sometimes lace their own drugs with another substance to combine or alter the physiological or psychoactive effects. Types of lacing agents Non-psychoactive lacing agents Visually mimics Some fake drugs consist of substances from relatively harmless sources, such as grocery store goods like flour, oregano or allergy pills. Even despite the substances' harmlessness, legal penalties for the crime of selling them can include time in jail. Flavor masker Sometimes a flavor masker are added to g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drug Checking
Drug checking or pill testing is a way to reduce the harm from drug consumption by allowing users to find out the content and purity of substances that they intend to consume. This empowers users to make safer choices: to avoid more dangerous substances, to use smaller quantities, and to avoid dangerous combinations. Drug checking services have developed over the last twenty-five years in twenty countries and are being considered in more countries, although attempts to implement them in some countries have been hindered by local laws. Drug checking initially focused on MDMA users in electronic dance music events but the services have broadened as drug use has become more complex. These developments have been strongly affected by local laws and culture, resulting in a diverse range of services, both for mobile services that attend events and festivals and fixed sites in town centres and entertainment districts. For instance, staff may or may not be able to handle illegal substances, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surrogate Alcohol
Surrogate alcohol is a term for any substance containing ethanol that is intentionally consumed by humans but is not meant for human consumption. Some definitions of the term also extend to illegally produced alcoholic beverages. Consumption of such substances carries extreme health risks, both from the ethanol content and other more toxic substances that may be present. Users risk both acute poisoning from substances such as methanol, and chronic poisoning from substances such as lead. Most people turn to these as a last resort either out of desperation, being underaged or being unable to afford consumable alcoholic beverages (with homeless alcoholics) or due to lack of access to drinking ethanol (for example with prison inmates and individuals in psychiatric wards). Common surrogate alcohols Many alcoholic liquids contain alcohol but are not meant to be ingested in the same way as alcoholic beverages. Typical surrogate alcohols include: *Hand sanitizer *Mouthwash *Aftershav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
