Operation Web Tryp
Encyclopedia
Operation Web Tryp was a United States Drug Enforcement Administration
operation that ended on July 21, 2004 with the arrests of 10 persons. Its purpose was to investigate web sites suspected of distribution of unscheduled, unregulated tryptamines and phenethylamines of questionable legality. This trade in "grey market
" drugs, which were not explicitly illegal but potentially prosecutable as drug analogs, became known as the "research chemical" trade; a euphemism for the fact that the chemicals were being sold for industrial or academic research rather than human consumption.
Five websites were involved in Operation Web Tryp:
One of these websites, pondman.nu, was allegedly taking in U.S. $20,000 per week and grossed $700,000 before being shut down. Another, racresearch.com, reportedly grossed $500,000 in 14 months.
The DEA claims that AMT
sold by pondman.nu caused the April 2002 death of an 18-year-old man in upstate New York, and that 2C-T-7
and 2C-T-21
sold by americanchemicalsupply.com caused the death of a 22-year-old Louisiana man. Fourteen other non-fatal overdose incidents requiring hospitalization were also cited by the DEA.
In December 2004, using credit card information provided by the DEA, British police arrested and charged over 20 UK residents who had purchased substances through the seized web sites (Operation Ismene). A few people managed to get non custodial sentences though one person is known to have spent 3 years in UK prison. Many people ordered drugs in the UK from these websites, with the FBI passing on the details to British authorities.
In 2009 the UK has become the capital of Europe in producing and sourcing "Legal highs" according to the European Drugs Commission. These are generally cleverly modified compounds taken from natural alkaloids, however due to the nature of the government openly banning Shulgins
work, no-one is releasing any form of synthesis
or toxicology
data in the forms of white papers- knowing it is a fast track route for prosecution.
. This Act and the United States v. Forbes Colorado
federal district court case stipulated that the burden of proof, in regards for the intention for human consumption, was on the government if any prosecution under the Federal Analog Act was to occur. Additionally, legal ambiguities regarding the legality of certain analogs of scheduled substances had been established in the aforementioned court case (In particular, the similarities of AET
and DMT
were debated).
As the Analog Act requires intent that a drug analog be manufactured or sold "for human consumption" before becoming prosecutable, it's possible that the people arrested in this operation could have escaped prosecution had they been more careful in how they promoted and represented their products. Many lapses of judgement or legal knowledge on the part of the web site owners and operators contributed to their downfall, such as the marketing of "sampler packs" containing what amounted to individual dosage units of drugs and aggressive promotion of their wares specifically as psychoactive drugs in various forums, such as Usenet
. Usenet readers repeatedly warned at least one site operator that they were going to run afoul of the Analog Law.
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
operation that ended on July 21, 2004 with the arrests of 10 persons. Its purpose was to investigate web sites suspected of distribution of unscheduled, unregulated tryptamines and phenethylamines of questionable legality. This trade in "grey market
Grey market
A grey market or gray market also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer...
" drugs, which were not explicitly illegal but potentially prosecutable as drug analogs, became known as the "research chemical" trade; a euphemism for the fact that the chemicals were being sold for industrial or academic research rather than human consumption.
Five websites were involved in Operation Web Tryp:
- www.racresearch.com (RAC ResearchRAC ResearchRAC Research was a research chemical supplier. During a DEA covert operation called Operation Web Tryp in 2004 they were one of many psychoactive research chemical suppliers to be taken down on suspicion that they illegally sold designer drugs through their website.During the time period of the...
), including the arrest of April Curtis. - www.duncanlabproducts.com
- www.pondman.nu
- www.americanchemicalsupply.com, including the arrest of Mike Burton.
- www.omegafinechemicals.com
One of these websites, pondman.nu, was allegedly taking in U.S. $20,000 per week and grossed $700,000 before being shut down. Another, racresearch.com, reportedly grossed $500,000 in 14 months.
The DEA claims that AMT
Alphamethyltryptamine
α-Methyltryptamine , is a psychedelic, stimulant, and entactogen drug of the tryptamine class. It was originally developed as an antidepressant by workers at Upjohn in the 1960s.- History :...
sold by pondman.nu caused the April 2002 death of an 18-year-old man in upstate New York, and that 2C-T-7
2C-T-7
2C-T-7 is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. In his book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, Alexander Shulgin lists the dosage range as 10 to 30 mg. 2C-T-7 is generally taken orally, and produces psychedelic and entactogenic effects that last 8 to 15 hours...
and 2C-T-21
2C-T-21
2C-T-21 is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin, sometimes used as an entheogen. It was the first psychedelic drug known to contain six different chemical elements in the structure.-Chemistry:...
sold by americanchemicalsupply.com caused the death of a 22-year-old Louisiana man. Fourteen other non-fatal overdose incidents requiring hospitalization were also cited by the DEA.
In December 2004, using credit card information provided by the DEA, British police arrested and charged over 20 UK residents who had purchased substances through the seized web sites (Operation Ismene). A few people managed to get non custodial sentences though one person is known to have spent 3 years in UK prison. Many people ordered drugs in the UK from these websites, with the FBI passing on the details to British authorities.
In 2009 the UK has become the capital of Europe in producing and sourcing "Legal highs" according to the European Drugs Commission. These are generally cleverly modified compounds taken from natural alkaloids, however due to the nature of the government openly banning Shulgins
Shulgin Rating Scale
The Shulgin Rating Scale is a simple scale for reporting the subjective effect of psychoactive substances at a given dosage, and at a given time...
work, no-one is releasing any form of synthesis
Synthesis
In general, the noun synthesis refers to a combination of two or more entities that together form something new; alternately, it refers to the creating of something by artificial means...
or toxicology
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
data in the forms of white papers- knowing it is a fast track route for prosecution.
Legality
Although these chemicals were not yet scheduled, a long shadow was cast on their legality by the 1986 Federal Analog ActFederal Analog Act
The Federal Analog Act, , is a controversial section of the United States Controlled Substances Act which allowed any chemical "substantially similar" to a controlled substance listed in Schedule I or II to be treated as if it were also listed in those schedules, but only if intended for human...
. This Act and the United States v. Forbes Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
federal district court case stipulated that the burden of proof, in regards for the intention for human consumption, was on the government if any prosecution under the Federal Analog Act was to occur. Additionally, legal ambiguities regarding the legality of certain analogs of scheduled substances had been established in the aforementioned court case (In particular, the similarities of AET
Alpha-Ethyltryptamine
α-ethyltryptamine , also known as etryptamine, is a psychedelic, stimulant and entactogen of the tryptamine chemical class.- History :...
and DMT
Dimethyltryptamine
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound of the tryptamine family. DMT is found in several plants, and also in trace amounts in humans and other mammals, where it is originally derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan, and ultimately produced by the enzyme INMT...
were debated).
As the Analog Act requires intent that a drug analog be manufactured or sold "for human consumption" before becoming prosecutable, it's possible that the people arrested in this operation could have escaped prosecution had they been more careful in how they promoted and represented their products. Many lapses of judgement or legal knowledge on the part of the web site owners and operators contributed to their downfall, such as the marketing of "sampler packs" containing what amounted to individual dosage units of drugs and aggressive promotion of their wares specifically as psychoactive drugs in various forums, such as Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
. Usenet readers repeatedly warned at least one site operator that they were going to run afoul of the Analog Law.
External links
- A DEA news release from July 22, 2004 announcing the conclusion of the operation
- David McCandless, "Bad Trip for Online Drug Peddlers", Wired magazine, July 6, 2005
- An Erowid article on Operation Web Tryp Updated September 5, 2007.