Designer Drugs: The Thin Line Between Legal and Illegal

There is no doubt that drugs are a lucrative business as addiction guarantees constant —and should the seller be most enterprising, growing— demand. However, every business venture carries risks.

Addiction gradually destroys the consumer, which is why the state has guardrails in place to protect its citizens. The state determines which substances are dangerous and can therefore ban or restrict. Once a substance is classified as an illegal drug, the state employs repressive measures. Legal business becomes illegal activity, where companies become criminal organizations forced to survive through mafia-like practices. However, if a company can stay one step ahead of the state, great possibilities present themselves. Welcome to the world of designer drugs.

What Are Designer Drugs?

Designer drugs are synthetic or semi-synthetic substances created using pharmaceutical formulas or using molecules from natural drugs, such as cocaine or cannabis. The first category using pharmaceuticals includes medications considered dangerous due to severe side effects or for containing highly addictive properties. One example is Captagon, originally developed for treating ADHD, narcolepsy, and depression, which many countries later banned.

The second group includes substances like HHC (hexahydrocannabinol), which has effects similar to cannabis, or cathinones like 3-CMC and 3-MMC, which resemble cocaine. These drugs showed the true potential of Designer Drugs, and a few years ago they were available legally. The manufacturers of Designer Drugs have thus been able to expand their reach. They could make use of legal distribution networks of established online stores, pay for online advertising, and ship or deliver Designer Drugs without fear of couriers being exposed to criminal prosecution. Legal or not, it is challenging as it requires coordination in several areas.

Legal Loopholes

To stay within the confines of the law, the Designer Drug business relies on lawyers. Due to the lengthy and complicated administrative processes involved in deciding what substances to permit and which to ban, authorities are slow to intervene. Criteria for banning substances are strict, and the burden of proof lies with the state (f.e.: some molecules had seen prior use as drugs in medicine and their effects are not necessarily harmful to the human body).

Dealers use various methods to label their products—for instance, as collectable items , substances not intended for oral use, or as dietary supplements. One example is the distribution of HHC through vending machines in shopping centers in the Czech Republic, where even children could purchase the products until this form of sale was banned on March 1st, 2024.

Development and production

Due to the Internet, obtaining equipment or instructions for production is a relatively easy process. Provided they have well-trained staff, large but illegal laboratories in the Netherlands and Poland can produce up to 100 kg of drugs in a day. It is more difficult for individuals to obtain chemicals in large quantities, but small legal companies can import almost anything from China, India, and Pakistan, where black markets for chemicals exist.

The most challenging part is developing new drugs, which involves more than just trial and error. Producers must understand testing protocols to minimize side effects and fatalities. In France, each year approximately 15 people die from designer drugs, a higher mortality rate than traditional drugs like cocaine. As a result, manufacturers need experienced scientists, who are hard to find in Europe due to moral objections, which makes them turn to Asian scientists, in whom pragmatism often wins out.

Marketing and Social Media

The final component behind the success of designer drugs is undoubtedly marketing. Designer drugs can be found on numerous e-shops, websites which are nearly indistinguishable from those selling pharmaceuticals or everyday goods. These sites often use standard marketing tools like SEO, as they compete over keywords on search engines.

Sellers excel in marketing by offering a broad spectrum of products in various price ranges, the descriptions and names of which are often highly original, which requires its own kind of expertise.Choosing the right name for a product is absolutely crucial to its success. The name must be simple, easily memorable, and evoke positive associations. Since Designer Drugs do not come with an ingredient list, the product's name is the only guarantee that the client will get what they expect. The problem lies in the fact that the composition can change with each batch produced.

Therefore manufacturers of Designer Drugs are highly motivated to embed their product names (which includes names as “Blue Buddha” or “Tina”) into the customer's memory, as this allows them to sell different compositions without the customer noticing.

Lastly, logistics are crucial and have seen a growing professionalisation over the years. Packages are delivered by normal mail but disguised as other items or by specialty courier services that ensure tracking and even offer replacements for undelivered parcels. The customer might feel as though he is ordering from Amazon.

A major challenge lies in getting an estimate of the profit the whole drug trade makes. Such estimates are usually based on confiscated material, but this represents only the tip of the iceberg. The situation is even more complicated with Designer Drugs, as often, when shipments are intercepted, the substances are not classified as drugs. Basic police laboratories are not even equipped to detect them, as there are no testing protocols in place. Consequently, obtaining accurate figures is practically impossible.

Trying to find this out, the ‘Play Safe’ association conducted one of the best experiments thus far. In 2022, it launched a fake e-shop offering designer drugs. When clients tried to complete their orders, they were redirected to a warning page about the risks of Designer Drugs. Within a year, the site recorded more than 20,000 orders totaling over €4 million, despite having not advertised their products. Had they done marketing, who knows how many tens of millions in annual sales they could have achieved?

Where There Is Demand, There Is Supply

Like any business, the designer drug trade follows the law of supply and demand. We might ask why so many young people are willing to pay for and risk their health with unknown products presented as completely normal, akin to purchasing supplements.

The European Drug Report 2024 states that surveys conducted in 24 EU countries between 2017 and 2023, which group amphetamine and methamphetamine together, show that 1.5 million young adults (15-34 years), i.e. 1.5% of the age group, have used amphetamines in the last year.

For younger individuals, the risks are even greater. Not only does this expose them to the threat of unnecessary death, but it also raises the possibility of permanent physical or mental impairment, thereby becoming a societal burden. Due to public awareness campaigns in Europe, it is now hard for anyone to claim ignorance regarding the dangerous side effects of Designer Drugs.

Drug dealing has always been a lucrative business, as is the case with anything prohibited by the state. However, Designer Drugs offer a window of opportunity for legal business operations for a limited time, with profits still stemming from the illegal drug trade. This is enticing, but it is not for everyone. Unlike traditional drug dealing, the trade in Designer Drugs demands cooperation across multiple fields as well as adaptability. The managerial demands of this business are far greater than those of a conventional drug lord. These managers often operate using standard business practices and do not resort to violence or threats. Their motivations may not be purely financial, as these individuals would likely find success in the legitimate job market without issue.

This opens the door to various speculations. It could be driven by a desire to take risks and push societal limits, or perhaps by a deep-seated hatred for the current system, with the aim of contributing to its gradual decay.

Given frequent references to China in connection with Designer Drugs, it is not entirely out of the question that this represents another battleground in a hybrid war. Proving a direct link between certain states and the Designer Drugs market is practically impossible, as it would require full cooperation with their state agencies—currently, an unrealistic prospect. On the other hand, it would be extremely naive to believe that China is not monitoring these activities.

The situation surrounding designer drugs highlights a fundamental issue with Europe’s current legislative framework. The fight against drugs takes place at both national and European level, which take some time to align. This delay is gladly taken advantage of by designer drug manufacturers. Sellers exploit law loopholes and can continue offering their products. Similarly, the EU fails to leverage its influence to convince countries like China, India, or Pakistan to regulate more strictly and offer cooperation in fighting the drugs sector. The as yet unsuccessful war against designer drugs serves as a warning that our current laws are not up to the task.

Designer Drugs as expression of the Zeitgeist

Traditional drug manufacturers, such as those producing cocaine and heroin, represent a more conservative approach to the drug trade. These substances have been known for decades, with families in Colombia or Afghanistan maintaining their businesses and knowledge across generations. Their goal is to grow a single product, aiming for consistent quality. This also applies to logistics. The distribution channels for traditional drugs have been built up over time with the aim of sustaining them for as long as possible. Developing new routes is a complicated and resource-intensive process. Even at the local level, long-term relationships and trust between dealers and clients have been established. New customers typically only found their way to the dealer through word of mouth.

Designer Drugs, however, overturn this traditional model. The key factor is product innovation. In 2022 alone, EU law enforcement identified 400 new substances. Logistics is constantly evolving, making use of standard transportation and shipping services. Dealers now function like Uber drivers—clients never know who will be driving them. Anonymity, which used to be a problem in the drug trade, has now become an advantage. The danger of Designer Drugs lies precisely in them being embraced by the zeitgeist, or spirit of the times. The fight against them will be a complicated one since a permissive society, by its very nature, always struggles to establish clear boundaries.

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