Cutting agent
Encyclopedia
A cutting agent is a chemical used to "cut" (dilute
) illicit drugs with something less expensive than the drug itself.
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 these are often with 'cuts' designed to appeal to the consumer as opposed to simple diluent
s. 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% does not mean 50% cutting agents. The other 50% could be other opiate by-products of making heroin from opium. Coomber (1997d) after having street heroin seizures from the UK re-analysed reported that nearly 50% of the samples had no cutting agents present at all. This means that 50% of street heroin in the UK in 1995 had worked its way from producer to user without being cut. Other research by Coomber (1997b) outlined how drug dealers have other ways of making profit without having to resort to cutting the drugs they sell.
Most hard drugs are adulterated to some degree or another. The cutting agent used depends upon the properties of the drug to be cut. Other drugs, such as LSD
, peyote
, and hallucinogenic mushrooms are rarely (if at all) adulterated.
Some street drugs can be as low as 10-15% of the active drug, with the other (85-90%) not necessarily being the cutting agent. In fact a heroin sample of only 20% purity may have no cutting agents in it at all. The other 80% may be impurities produced in the manufacture process and the substances by products of this process and/or degradation of the drug if improperly stored.
When choosing a cutting agent, the drug manufacturer or dealer would ideally attempt to find a chemical that is inexpensive, easy to obtain, relatively non-toxic, and mimics the physical attributes of the drug to be adulterated. For example, if a drug is soluble in water, the preferred adulterant would also be water-soluble. Similar melting and boiling points are also important if the drug is to be smoked.
Dilution
Dilution may refer to:* Reducing the concentration of a chemical* Serial dilution, a common way of going about this reduction of concentration* Homeopathic dilution* Dilution , an equation to calculate the rate a gas dilutes...
) illicit drugs with something less expensive than the drug itself.
Overview
The classical model of drug cutting (cf. Preble & 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 these are often with 'cuts' designed to appeal to the consumer as opposed to simple diluent
Diluent
A diluent 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...
s. 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% does not mean 50% cutting agents. The other 50% could be other opiate by-products of making heroin from opium. Coomber (1997d) after having street heroin seizures from the UK re-analysed reported that nearly 50% of the samples had no cutting agents present at all. This means that 50% of street heroin in the UK in 1995 had worked its way from producer to user without being cut. Other research by Coomber (1997b) outlined how drug dealers have other ways of making profit without having to resort to cutting the drugs they sell.
Most hard drugs are adulterated to some degree or another. The cutting agent used depends upon the properties of the drug to be cut. Other drugs, such as LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
, peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
, and hallucinogenic mushrooms are rarely (if at all) adulterated.
Some street drugs can be as low as 10-15% of the active drug, with the other (85-90%) not necessarily being the cutting agent. In fact a heroin sample of only 20% purity may have no cutting agents in it at all. The other 80% may be impurities produced in the manufacture process and the substances by products of this process and/or degradation of the drug if improperly stored.
When choosing a cutting agent, the drug manufacturer or dealer would ideally attempt to find a chemical that is inexpensive, easy to obtain, relatively non-toxic, and mimics the physical attributes of the drug to be adulterated. For example, if a drug is soluble in water, the preferred adulterant would also be water-soluble. Similar melting and boiling points are also important if the drug is to be smoked.