B.5 HALLUCINOGENS

LEGAL SOURCES AND LEGAL DISTRIBUTION
The laws controlling the distribution and possession of hallucinogens are contained in Part IV of the Food and Drugs Act and Part J of the Food and Drug Regulations. Hallucinogens are referred to as "restricted drugs" in both the Act and its Regulations. These legislative measures came into effect in August 1969. At that time it became illegal for unauthorized persons to possess, sell, manufacture, export or import LSD, DET, DMT and STP (DOM).* MDA, MMDA and LBJ were added to the Schedule of restricted drugs in December 1969, and in May 1970 a number of dimethoxyamphetamines were also added. Harmaline and harmalol, the most recent additions, were included in this Schedule in November 1971. All restricted drugs are presently listed in Schedule H of the Food and Drugs Act.

* The unauthorized sale of LSD was originally prohibited in 1962, but comprehensive hallucinogen control measures (including a possessional offence) were not enacted until August 1969.

This Act and its Regulations limit the possession of restricted drugs to institutions and persons authorized by the Minister of National Health and Welfare. Federal analysts and inspectors, police and court officers, and staff members of the Department of National Health and Welfare may also possess these restricted drugs if such possession is "for the purpose and in connection with" their employment. Persons or institutions authorized by the Minister to possess or distribute these substances must keep a record of their stocks and transactions for Department of National Health and Welfare inspection, and must notify the Minister of National Health and Welfare and local law enforcement authorities of "any loss or theft of a restricted drug".

At the present time a government official within the Health Protection Branch of the Department of National Health and Welfare has been designated as the only "licensed dealer" of restricted drugs in Canada." Qualified investigators wishing to conduct research with these drugs must apply for their purchase through an institution (including universities, hospitals, and departments or agencies of the federal or provincial governments) to this "licensed dealer" who must receive ministerial approval before he distributes restricted drugs.

Current research involving restricted drugs is focussed primarily on animal studies and investigations into improved analytical methodology." Requests for the use of restricted drugs in clinical studies (involving human subjects) have not been approved in Canada since 1969.

Several varieties of organic hallucinogens (including nutmeg, morning glory seeds, woodrose, amanita muscaria [`magic mushroom'] and psilocybin) are not included in either Schedule H (restricted drugs) or G (controlled drugs) of the Food and Drugs Act, in Schedule F of the Food and Drug Regulations or in the Schedule of the Narcotic Control Act. Consequently, the importation, possession and sale of these substances are not prohibited. However, these drugs are rarely available in the Canadian drug market and are generally used, if at all, for non-psychotropic purposes. Mescaline is controlled under Schedule F of the Food and Drug Regulations and may be legally purchased only on the written or oral prescription of a licensed medical practitioner. However, even if an individual possessed such a prescription, it would, at present, be impossible to have it filled at any pharmacy as commercial pharmaceutical mescaline is not available in Canada. All legally distributed supplies of mescaline have been used exclusively for research or experimental medical purposes.

LEGAL SOURCES AND ILLEGAL DISTRIBUTION

Except for a very few authorized experimental programs, there have been no legal sources for and no legal distribution of the more popular hallucinogenic drugs in Canada since August 1969. Some hallucinogenic drugs, however, are available as legally manufactured prescription veterinary substances, and there is reason to believe that one of these, PCP, may have been occasionally diverted to the underground market where it has been packaged and sold as the 'peace pill', as `THC', and as mescaline. This drug first became popular among Canadian hallucinogen users during 1970 and 1971, and recent street-drug analyses and police seizures indicate that PCP is still readily available in the illicit market.

ILLEGAL SOURCES AND ILLEGAL DISTRIBUTION

All of the major hallucinogens in the illicit drug market (such as LSD, PCP and MDA) are either illegally produced in Canada or are smuggled into this country, primarily from the United States. The North American underground distribution of LSD (or 'acid'), the most popular and widely discussed hallucinogen, was not publicly noticed until 1962 when an "... illicit trade in the 25 meg. tablets, 100 meg. ampules, and in sugar cubes staturated [sic] with 100 mcg. of the agent . .." was first reported on the American west coast.4 Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, the only legal distributor of LSD, withdrew the drug from the clinical research market in early 1966 as a result of ". . . unforseeable public reaction. . .".3° Sale of lysergic acid (an essential chemical precursor for LSD manufacture) to unauthorized customers was prohibited by the United States Food and Drug Administration around the same time, and all LSD distributed to authorized researchers was recalled. But, as Geller and Boas have noted, "... prior to 1966 one could still legally purchase lysergic acid from . . . [chemical suppliers] . . . for approximately fifty to seventy-five dollars a gram and a good many people were doing exactly that."9 When LSD itself was made illegal,* the more determined manufacturers (now armed with the chemical know-how and several years of laboratory experience) simply moved their operations underground, obtained their chemical precursors from illicit sources, and continued to produce LSD while experimentally developing newer hallucinogens such as STP (which first appeared in California in mid-1967)22, 23 and MDA (which gained widespread popularity in Canadian multi-drug scenes by the summer of 1969). LSD, however, remains the principal drug in the hallucinogen market and will be considered prototypical in the following discussion.t

* The illicit manufacture and sale of LSD were prohibited in the United States, as misdemeanours, under the federal Drug Abuse Control Amendments of 1965, which came into effect in April 1966. Illicit manufacture and sale were rescheduled as felonies in 1968 and a federal possessional offence was introduced at the same time. More importantly for illicit manufacturers at that time, the California legislature outlawed the possession and sale of LSD in the fall of 1966.3,
t Small amounts of organic hallucinogens, such as mescaline, peyote and psilocybin, are reputed to occasionally enter the Canadian drug market. These supplies, however, are highly irregular and not associated with any major distribution network.

LSD is manufactured in underground laboratories (called 'factories' or `kitchens') in or close to cities in which there are large concentrations of users. * While some laboratories are thought to exist in Toronto, Montreal and British Columbia, most of the LSD in Canada is illegally imported from American sources, chiefly in California. While it is generally conceded that LSD use has become less noticeable over the past few years, the United States Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs noted that the drug was still being manufactured by perhaps as many as 100 clandestine laboratories across the United States in late 1971.29

The actual production of LSD requires a substantial financial outlay, access to illegal chemical precursors, and considerable chemical skill. Construction of an LSD laboratory necessitates a minimal expenditure of around $10,000 for basic equipment and chemical ingredients.2. " According to Warner:

The materials come from chemical and laboratory supply houses located in most of the major metropolitan areas. . . . The laboratory equipment is available to anyone able to pay the catalog prices. With the exception of lysergic acid, which is a controlled item, the precursors or chemicals necessary to make most of the popular hallucinogenic drugs can be purchased from these supply houses."

The major difficulty encountered by LSD manufacturers is obtaining the essential chemical precursor: lysergic acid. This chemical is ordinarily secured through the chemical hydrolysis of ergotamine tartrate. While ergotamine tartrate can be obtained for authorized purposes from American chemical supply houses, it is usually purchased on the black market for between $15,000 and $20,000 a kilogram (2.2 pounds) or is smuggled into North America from Poland or Czechoslovakia where it is more readily available for about one-half of the American cost. One hundred grams of ergotamine tartrate is said to yield approximately nine grams of lysergic acid which, when subject to further chemical procedures, actually yields about five grams of LSD.t15 These five grams of LSD, however, represent between 10,000 and 50,000 single-dosage units of the drug, depending on how it is subdivided for retail sale.

Large-scale LSD manufacturing is ordinarily sponsored by one or two major investors who are usually in their early twenties to early thirties and have the contacts and capital to initiate such a venture. Carey, in describing these individuals at the top of the LSD distribution hierarchy, has noted that:

* Nearly 50 per cent of the 72 illicit hallucinogen laboratories seized by agents of the United States Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs between 1966 and 1969 were located in three states: California, Massachussetts and New York.15
Some underground chemical manuals promise a yield of at least four times this high, or more than 20 grams of LSD from 100 grams of ergotamine tartrate." Some San Francisco area underground chemists claim an LSD yield of as high as 33 per cent."

Minus the cost of lysergic acid and laboratory costs, the Mr. Big should take but two to three months to clear his major expenses for the year, and then his overhead is merely precautionary. The Mr. Big obviously needs but one motivation—money. Obviously, he must operate as a criminal, hiding his raw materials, his finished product, his laboratory, and even his chemist.*'

In 1968 the major California 'chemists' are each said to have been manufacturing sufficient LSD to produce between 10,000 and 20,000 individual doses a month. These chemists' skills are highly valued (each earns between $1,000 and $2,000 a month) and, consequently, they are unlikely to be involved in the actual distribution of the drug.2 Rather, the chemist will deliver the LSD in a crystalline or 'liquid' (in solution) form to the major investor and he, in turn, will sell grams or half-grams of the drug to other large-scale dealers or convert the drug to single-dosage units for sale in thousand-dose lots. Grams of LSD have sold for up to $4,000 each, but a steady deflation of the market since 1968 has lowered their price to between $500 and $600 apiece in California and between $750 and $1,200 apiece throughout most of Canada. The purchaser of grams, however, is still faced with the problem of converting the drug into individual doses.

The transformation process employed depends on whether the grams of LSD are initially liquid or crystalline. In the case of liquid grams, a blotter may be soaked in a known amount of the drug and then, after drying, divided into the desired number of 'hits' (single doses). Alternatively, gelatin may be added to a solution containing a known amount of the drug. This mixture is then dried and cut into uniform single doses which are sold as 'clear light' or `window pane' acid. t Crystalline LSD is usually mixed (or 'buffed') with inert substances, such as lactose or baking soda (and, occasionally, non-toxic colouring), in an agitator for several hours.$ This mixture is then 'capped' (placed into capsules) or 'tabbed' (compressed into tablets on professional machinery). The tabbing process may be performed by someone external to the particular dealership for between five and ten per cent of the LSD's value at this stage in the distributing network.

Whether the single doses of LSD are prepared from liquid or crystalline grams does not essentially affect the eventual yield: one gram (or one million micrograms) of LSD can be converted into 4,000 single doses, each of which contains 250 micrograms of the drug. Should the manufacturer desire smaller dosage units (and larger profits), he need simply add more 'buff' to his crystalline mixture. In this manner one gram of LSD will yield as many as 10,000 doses, each containing a potent 100 micrograms of LSD.
* Some of the very early (pre-1968) underground LSD manufacturers appear to have been motivated more by a desire to 'turn on the world' than any mercenary considerations.
Liquid LSD may also be 'dropped' on nearly any 'carrier', sugar cubes being the best known example of this method. This mode of packaging, however, has rarely been observed since the mid-sixties.
# Adulterants such as amphetamines or strychnine may be added at this stage of the packaging to produce certain effects considered more desirable or saleable by the manufacturer.

These tablets or capsules of LSD are quickly sold, in bulk lots, to a number of middle-level dealers, often on consignment. Although the price varies with the potency and quality of the drug, 4,000 or more doses will usually cost around $800 (or twenty cents each) in California, while smaller bulk purchases are calculated on a twenty-five cent per single-dose basis. Third-level dealers, who pay the middle-level dealers in cash for their supplies, are likely to purchase under one thousand units at a time for between thirty and forty-five cents a hit. They, in turn, sell smaller lots (usually well under one hundred) to street dealers for between fifty cents and one dollar a dose.

LSD is occasionally smuggled into Canada as liquid or crystalline grams,* but is more likely to initially appear as 'tabbed' grams (about 4,000 individual doses) which sell for a little over $1,000, or in thousand-hit lots which sell for around $400 each. These bulk purchases are then subdivided into smaller lots for sale to intermediary and street dealers, the per unit cost increasing with each exchange. Eventually LSD is sold to its consumers for around two or three dollars a single dose, although street prices as low as one dollar a dose have been reported.f

Persons who traffic in small amounts of LSD are ordinarily also engaged in the distribution of other drugs such as marijuana and hashish. 'Chemicals' (as the hallucinogens are generically referred to) are simply part of these dealers' regular inventory, although they are rarely aware of the actual substances they are selling. Their customers are similarly unaware, and hallucinogen dealers occasionally take advantage of this situation by claiming that their chemicals are whatever drug it is that's being sought. 'Strawberry acid', for example, may be sold as 'pink mescaline' to someone desiring an `organic' drug. In some cases a dealer may, knowingly or otherwise, sell impurely or incompletely synthesized hallucinogens, or combinations of non-hallucinogenic drugs (or even inert substances) alleged to be `chemicals'.28 In both cases, however, it is not uncommon for customers to return for additional supplies after experiencing what they deem to be a 'good trip'4

* LSD, in either liquid or crystalline form, is easier to smuggle through international customs than any other drug because of its relatively infinitesimal weight and the fact that it is odourless, colourless and tasteless.
t In the winter of 1967-68, a single-dose unit of LSD could still command between ten and fifteen dollars in the Canadian hallucinogens market. By the summer of 1968 the retail price had dropped to five or six dollars, and it has declined steadily ever since.
Customers complaining of 'bad trips' to a dealer are usually informed that the problem rests in their psyche and not the drug. While bad trips on 'good acid' have been documented, it is also true that some adverse reactions are the consequence of ingesting hallucinogens of poor quality or substances that have no psychotropic properties.

For most hallucinogen users, the quality or purity of a given capsule or tablet does not appear to be as important as their subjective appreciation of the drug's effects. While these persons will question a dealer as to a drug's purity, they are usually in no position to dispute his claims. Consequently they are likely to decide to purchase on the basis of their trust in and experience with the dealer, the availability of alternate sources, their familiarity with the drug in question, the occasional reports of other users, and the price of the drug.

Analyses of street LSD and other hallucinogens have generally found that a substantial percentage of the samples are something other than they were alleged to be.* Generally speaking, LSD, MDA and PCP—or some combination of these drugs—account for at least 90 per cent of the hallucinogens available in the illicit market. PCP is almost never alleged to be PCP when submitted for analysis, mescaline is extremely rare, and psilocybin has never been positively identified through a street-drug analysis program.

Marshman and Gibbins, in an analytical study of street drugs collected in Ontario (primarily Toronto) between January 1969 and February 1970, found that only 56 per cent of the 176 samples alleged to be LSD ". . . did in fact contain that substance in a relatively well purified form".24 Another 22 per cent of these samples were the result of unsuccessful LSD synthesis and 18 per cent were "impure" LSD. Less than one per cent of the samples could not be identified, and four per cent contained no LSD at all. Only 62 per cent of those samples alleged to be MDA actually were MDA, and none of the 58 samples alleged to be mescaline actually contained this drug.

A Commission review of Canadian street-drug analysis (performed by numerous Canadian laboratories, from January 1970 to November 1972) found roughly similar results. Excluding LSD-PCP mixtures (which are reported as a separate drug category by the Health Protection Branch), slightly more than two-thirds of the 162 analysed samples alleged to be LSD were, in fact, relatively pure LSD. About five per cent of these samples were the products of faulty or incomplete LSD synthesis, and the remainder were either deceptions containing no LSD (17 per cent) or LSD mixed with other drugs such as MDA or barbiturates (9 per cent). Only 42 per cent of the 64 samples alleged to be MDA actually contained pure MDA, while an additional 20 per cent contained MDA mixed with other drugs such as LSD or amphetamine. In 27 per cent of the cases a drug other than MDA was present, and in the remaining 11 per cent of the analyses no drug was identified. Of 171 samples alleged to be mescaline, only five (3 per cent) contained any mescaline, whereas PCP, LSD or LSD in combination with other drugs constituted 59 per cent of the analyses. The remainder consisted of other drugs (20 per cent) or no drug at all (18 per cent).

Thus, an illicit hallucinogen user has, at best, about a fifty per cent chance of obtaining an unadulterated drug through street transactions.

^ Hallucinogens submitted to laboratories for analysis are often those suspected of being adulterated or the cause of adverse reactions. Consequently, the samples reviewed in this section can in no way be considered a random selection of hallucinogens in the Canadian market. These data are reviewed in more detail in Appendix A.5 Hallucinogens and Their Effects.

References

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