NCJ Number
142974
Date Published
1993
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report describes how chemicals are used to make illicit drugs, discusses existing Federal and State legislation to curtail the diversion of chemicals for illicit drug production, and reviews the model State law designed to balance the interests of law enforcement and legitimate commerce.
Abstract
Chemicals diverted from legitimate business are used in the production of illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, PCP, and LSD. Controlling illegal diversion and use of such chemicals is essential to limiting illicit drug production. Recent control efforts rest on the belief that illicit drug production can be traced from the records of chemical manufacturers and retailers of raw materials in the same way that laundered money can be traced through financial records. The main Federal law to control chemical diversion is the Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988, which established recordkeeping requirements and enforcement activities, initially for 20 chemicals. However, 32 States do not require such recordkeeping. Therefore, NIJ sponsored a project to create a Model State Chemical Control Act. This law can be used to help halt the growth of illegal domestic drug manufacturing by stopping the diversion of chemicals from legitimate to illegitimate purposes.