How the Internet Became the ‘Cookbook’ of the Drug Trade
The New York Times • • health
Key Points:
- Kai Raydon, a University of Colorado student, unknowingly inhaled a novel and potent synthetic drug after purchasing what he believed were quaaludes from the dark web, highlighting the dangers of unregulated substances.
- Despite using a fentanyl test strip that showed negative, the substance caused unexpected effects, indicating the presence of new, unknown chemicals rather than the expected sedative.
- The incident reflects a broader trend where hundreds of ultra-potent, lab-made drugs are entering the illicit market, often only identified after causing overdoses.
- Many of these novel drugs originate from legitimate medical research, with scientific findings being copied and altered by illicit chemists, creating a "science-to-street" pipeline that is reshaping the illegal drug landscape.
