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Not for Human Consumption:

Modernity, Cyber-Globalization, and the
Sociocultural Odyssey of the Research Chemical
in America

Logan A. Kirkland

Modernity and Identity

Emma Guano, PhD

April 19th, 2011

Georgia State University

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Psychoactive chemicals and the relationship that human beings have with them

has always been a deeply intriguing topic. Drugs—the very word , in our culture, is

incredibly evocative; we think in terms of medicinal and recreational, and with concern

to the American nation-state, we have decided that the latter constructed category (with

the exception of certain most ancient drugs, which have both enormously wealthy

industrial-complexes and legions of lobbyists to support their continued legality; IE

alcohol and nicotine) is completely unacceptable. The State will have none of it—and a

zero tolerance policy, with dramatically grave punishments for offenders included, has

been the classic approach in order to deter unsanctioned recreational drug use (the phrase

‘drug abuse’ will be avoided, because one must question the inherent value-judgment

placed on the agency of the user by this term). The intention of this project is to explore

the grey-market of recreational chemicals that has sprouted outside the lines of what is

and is not directly illicit, a category classically constructed as designer drugs. Yet in the

age of the internet and globalization, this taxonomy has shifted again—and become the

realm of Research Chemicals. This project will engage itself in understanding the

following objectives: What are ‘Research Chemicals (RCs)? What history lead to them

becoming a modern sociocultural, economic, and political phenomena? What is the nature

of the battle between the American State and the ‘Research Chemical’ community

(persons engaged in the production, distribution, and consumption of Research

Chemicals) ? What is the role of the internet, the digital market, and various digital

communities in relation to Research Chemicals? Finally, what is the new ‘Herbal Incense’
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sub-market, and what role has it played in propelling the notion of Research Chemicals

into the public sphere and completely?

“Historically, drugs of abuse have come from two sources: plant products and

diverted pharmaceuticals. Today, new, totally synthetic drugs produced by clandestine

laboratories have become an increasingly important source of abused substances…”

(Henderson 1988 : 569). In 1979, so became the idea of designer drugs as an

increasingly potent category in the public consciousness; the Fentanyls became

commonly available on the underground drug market, and were soon responsible for

several mysterious overdoses. As a chemical class, the fentanyls (China White) exhibit

potent opioid effects (heroin-level potency or greater) but are chemically distinct from the

normal opioid structure. They are completely synthetic, having no basis in nature but

being the result of tampering with the chemical structure of other molecules. They were

the indeed the first ‘designer drugs’ to excite greatly both the public and the State, and

thus they propelled the notion of synthetic, grey-market recreational drugs (designer

drugs, later research chemicals) into the modern American culture.

These new drugs have existed along a remarkably similar pattern: if their use ever

becomes too widespread, their existence too commonly known—the DEA would crack

down on them and they’d become illegal. Thus the status quo was easily maintained under

the guise of the ‘invisible hand’—if anything was profitable enough, it would eventually

become an illicit substance. But with the emergence of the Internet and other instant

digital technologies in a world of e-commerce and overnight shipping, the game has
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changed again. The knowledge required for the synthesis of many of these complex

chemicals has become easily available (beginning with the publishing, and later free

internet distribution, of Alexander and Ann Shulgin’s two ‘cookbooks’, PiHKAL and

TiHKAL. The Shulgins were legendary psychochemical researchers for the DEA in the

late 80s and early 90s.). One could order the supplies and equipment online, have it a

week later, and start making things. Then, they could be sold easily on ‘the street’, or

online. It was a whole new world—the world of Research Chemicals.

Not for Human Consumption became the name of the game in America. This

moniker, placed on any research chemical product, became a literal ‘Ward against the

State’. Consumption of many of the various research chemicals would be against the law

under the Federal Analogues Act; yet possession of them without the intent to consume—

for other purposes; was completely legal. Thus, they have been sold as plant fertilizer,

bath salts, fish food, incense, VCR cleaner and a variety of other misdirections. They were

sold for research; not for consumption. They were created and marketed to circumvent the

drug bans on other illicit substances—either they were a chemical analogue of an illicit

substance, or, more rarely, a completely new subclass of chemical discovered to have

effects similar to a previous drug but with an entirely distinct chemical structure.

This gave birth to a shadowy Grey Market revolution along the lines of the internet

and globalization. Beginning with chemical supply companies in India and China, people

increasingly began to order these chemicals, everything from Mephedrone (an

amphetamine sold as bath salts), to the 2C-X and DOX families (psychedelic
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phenethylamines), to entactogens such as MDEA, even to various phoosphodiesterase

inhibitors, such as acetildenafil—erectile dysfunction medication (often contained in

herbal aphrodisiac products). This structure fits remarkably into Appadurai’s theory of

the Vertebrate and Cellular paradigms. The internet allows a clandestine global network

of the cellular nature to exist; networks of chemical supply, RC chemists, and distributors

constantly undermine the efforts (and even subversively take advantage of) the vertebral

State and her various agencies (IE, the DEA, the US Postal Service, et cetera). In contrast

to designer drugs of earlier decades, which were banned by the State if their use ever was

deemed to be too widespread, the internet has further revolutionized the grey market by

making these substances much harder for the State to (in the classic sense) evaluate and/or

ban, and much easier for the consumer to obtain—just like any instance of online

shopping, right to one’s door is possible (Appadurai 2006: 21-33).

Virtual communities and ‘harm-reduction’ resources have also played an

undeniable role in this ‘movement’. Places like Erowid.com, an enormously

comprehensive library database concerning itself with psychoactive substances; it

contains a wide range of both expert and experiential literature, including peer-reviewed

academic sources. Also important have been discussion forums/online communities such

as Bluelight, Drug-Forums, and the Shroomery, where many users of these substances go

to swap information about the effects and experiences that they have undergone while

using these products.

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Operation Web Tryp (a questionable pun by the State on the term ‘Tryptamine’, a

subclass of psychedelic drugs) was a DEA sting operation conducted against several large

Research Chemical suppliers in the United States, culminating on July 21, 2004. Five

websites were targeted and ten individuals were arrested. Sales of one website is said to

have totaled over $20,000 USD per week; and substances sold from these websites were

allegedly involved with in two fatal overdoses and 14 non-fatal overdoses (although, the

author must question the DEA’s language of ‘non-fatal overdose’; what does it constitute?

Throwing up? Rather sounds like the very legal case of ‘drinking too much’). “‘The

Internet has become the street corner for many drug users and traffickers. Drug pushers

who use the Internet will find themselves out of business and behind bars,’ Administrator

Tandy said. ‘These dealers now enter into the privacy of our own homes to entice and sell

destruction to our children veiled under the illusion of being safe and legal. The

formulation of analogues is like a drug dealer’s magic trick meant to fool law

enforcement….’” (Tandy 2004).

This ‘whole new world’ evolved again in the late 2000s, with the advent of ‘herbal

incense’ product, particularly Spice. “Spice is a herbal mixture sold on the internet,

samples of which have been found to contain new synthetic drugs which produce effects

similar to cannabis...” (Griffiths 2010: 951). These mixtures would contain a variety of

inert plant material (damania, mullien, mugwort, marshmallow, and mint are all

examples), sprayed or otherwise infused with synthetic cannabinoids such as JWH-018,

JWH-073, or cyclohexylphenol. These new ‘highs’ are perhaps the strongest example of

how the ‘grey-market’ of research chemicals has spilled over into the lives of many
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people. They represent a desire among the cannabis market for legal alternatives, and a

move away from the black market. Indeed, even as chemicals become banned, more are

produced—“There is clearly a big demand for legal highs. This will continue to be

satisfied by supplying products that contain chemicals that are not yet banned”

(Hammersley 2010:373). Several informants (both online and in person) and online

communities have echoed some of the following similar sentiments:

1) Synthetic cannabinoids, unlike THC and the other cannabinoids in the

Cannabis plant, do not show up on a standard drug screening. Thus, those
seeking employment, on probation, or otherwise prone to drug-screening are
able to use them without fear of discovery.

2) Possession of herbal incense doesn’t violate the law .

3) They are easily available in the urban setting from ‘headshops’ and Erotic-
Adult stores.

4) The synthetic blends are becoming increasingly affordable. Some poly-users

even report that some of them now are cheaper, by weight, than their illicit
counterpart.

There are a multitude of downsides that many users also recognize, however. They don’t

really know what is often in these products, nor do they know what kind of long term

effects these chemicals might have on their bodies. Cannabis obviously represents a much

safer alternative, having a long history of human use, obvious and undeniable medical

applications, and less homeostatic repercussion than even the ever-legal alcohol. Yet

herbal incense users, due to an obvious desire to not violate the law among other various
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reasons including the ones aforementioned, continue to use these quasi-legal products as a

substitute.

It is undeniable, these products do represent something with an assortment of

health risks and dangers; they are subject to no oversight, their production has no

professional standards, the purity of their products isn’t subject to any testing, and the

long-term health effects of these substances are not yet understood. Richard Hammersley,

in his short piece Dangers of Banning Spice and the Synthetic Cannabinoid Agonists,

makes a compelling argument in favour of taking a new approach to these products;

proposing several reasons why a “…generic ban may not make criminological sense, as

there is a real risk that it will make the herbal high market more dangerous, not safer…”

(Hammersley 2010:373). His predictions did indeed come true; as the first ‘generation’ of

‘legal highs’ were banned, another was quickly synthesized to take its place, and another,

and so on (Griffiths 2010: 952). Eventually, Hammersley also argues that the more

chemicals are banned, then more dangerous and unforgiving ones will undoubtedly take

their place. Thus, he argues, that this is a “…unique opportunity to regulate the production

of ‘herbal highs’ in an ethical and responsible fashion” (Hammersley 2010:373).

In the metro-Atlanta area, the first incenses products appeared locally in 2008 and

originally contained chemicals including: JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, CP, 497, and

HU-210. These products made up the first generation of herbal blends, first including such

media-infamous ones as Spice and K2, as well as slightly less known ones such as

Serenity Now, Spike, and Gonjah. These blends were banned by the DEA in March 2011;
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however, several states, including Georgia, had already banned those months prior (State

Office of Communications 2010). For a short time after, there was a shortage in highly

active blends on the market, most of them being either inert or very weak. This changed

within weeks of the new law however, as new blends with higher concentrations of

freshly prepared chemicals became quickly available—Buddha Blend, was one of the

first, followed by other more recent blends such as Spike XXX, Spiz, Spaz, Mister Miyagi,

and the K4 series. In the last two months, however, another generation of blend has

jumped to the forefront, containing such best-sellers as Zombie, Zombie Killa, and Disel.

These new blends often have double the potency with comparison to the other blends on

the market, and contain slightly over two grams of plant matter-- a two-hundred percent

jump from the industry standard of one gram (a trend started by the manufactures of Spiz

and Spaz).

Zombie Killa is an especially interesting case study (moreso because it is

considered, in Atlanta, to be the most potent available blend). It was introduced in early

March to the Atlanta area incense market, but quickly sold out in the first week; and for

the new two weeks, only one metro-Atlanta area shop was able to get any in stock. Thus,

by the time other merchants received their stock an enormous hype had built up among an

enormous demand for the product—one merchant even posted a sign in the front of the

store with the words: “Zombie Killa now in stock!!!! ”. It quickly sold out again, for

around a week, and then they would have it for a few days. The merchants would even

encourage customers to buy multiple packets of the product in case they ran out of stock

—and many reported buying into this behavior immediately, if they had the capital
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available. One of the shops even posted a graph showing the supposed ‘potency levels’ of

all of their blends, with the highly desirable Zombie Killa being dramatically stronger

than anything else listed.

It is certainly an interesting opportunity, for the State ,to regulate something that

might not be that dangerous, and that there is an obvious and very large market

interesting in engaging with these products proves the market-desire for these substances.

Fighting this battle seems like it could be a losing one for the State under current

legislation—for chemistry seems to have an endless supply of psychoactive chemicals

just waiting to be discovered (and marketed), while the State can only detect and ban

these substances at a certain, currently dramatically slower, speed. The digitally

globalized world has changed the game for the underground drug-market, and it presents

whole new set of problems among the draconian drug policies in the modern American

State—one can hope, however, that it will eventually lead to drug policy that emphasizes

the freedom and agency of the individual; and regulation and qualities standards order to

ensure a measure of safety—instead of the current policy; costing American tax payers

millions in order to engage in incarcerating drug offenders. Regardless, these continued

new developments in the world of recreational psychochemicals, as obvious results of the

increasing spatial and temporal compression in Modernity, present our society, our

culture, and our State with a variety of decisions to make and things to (hopefully) better

understand. In conclusion, I’d like to invoke a passage now several decades old that seems

to echo the sentiments of not only then, but today:

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“These substances have become popular at an unusual point in human history: they
occur during a period of transition from the mechanical to the electronic age. In fact, for
many people they provide the first real introduction to the distinct difference between the
“straight” world of mechanical technology and the fragmented world of the mosaic pattern
—a world in which constant crossing of the interface between any two sectors becomes a
common occurrence. The shock of this encounter between the two cultures—the major
interface that must be crossed—created by the emergence of electronic technology, is
quickly fashioning a new stage upon which the human drama is being enacted..” (Einhorn
1971: 49)

Works Cited

Henderson, G.L.
1988 Designer Drugs: Past History and Future Prospects. Journal of Forensic Science 33
(2): 569-575

Griffiths, Paul and Roumen Sedefov

2010 How Globalization and Market Innovation Challenge How we Think About and
Respond to Drug Use: ‘Spice’ a Case Study. Addiction 105 (6): 951-953.

Hammersley, Richard

2010 Dangers of Banning Spice and Synthetic Cannabinoid Agonists. Addiction 105: 373-
375.

Appadurai, Arjun
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2006 Fear of Small Numbers. Duke University Press.

Einhorn, Ira.
1971 The Sociology of the Now. The Journal of Psychedelic Review 11: 49-58.

Tandy, Karen P.; United State Drug Enforcement Administration

2004. DEA Announces Arrests of Website Operators Selling Illegal Designer Drugs:
(http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/pressrel/pr072204.html).

Georgia State : Office of Communications.

2010. Governor Signs Bill Outlawing Synthetic Marijuana:
(http://gov.georgia.gov/00/press/detail/0,2668,78006749_78013037_159806898,00.html)