From: ap.5196@cupid.sai.com (Anonymous)
Subject: [anonymous] Khat --> Cat hype
Originator: lamontg@hardy.u.washington.edu
Keywords: anonymous
Reply-To: ap.5196@cupid.sai.com
Organization: Somewhere
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 00:09:54 GMT



pretty hilarious stuff here... (Sacramento Bee 9-27-92). The nonsense
ratio is much higher than previous samples of media hype, they seem
to have invented new kinds of super-potent bullshit. People in the know
say that the media is making bigger bucks that ever before with this 
new breed of "information". Parents and teachers should beware :-)
Seriously, I'm curious to see who can refute the most sentences in this
article...

New Drug Packs Potent High, Hook
- Students' creation called more addictive than heroin, crack cocaine -

Scott Bowles, Detroit News, w/o permission, typos mine.

DETROIT -- It began last year as a chemical experiment in rural pockets
of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, an attempt by college students to 
duplicate the modest high of a chewable narcotic leaf known as khat.

But what emerged form their makeshift labs is a powdered drug so potent
that it dwarfs crack cocaine and heroin in its addictive punch, 
authorities say.

Narcotics agents with the Detroit police and the Wayne County Sheriff's
Department have been put on alert for methcathinone -- or "cat", as it
was dubbed by the students who created it.

The synthetic stimulant, recently placed on the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Agency's emergency list of controlled substances, can generate a high 
that lasts up to six days, authorities say.

Cat marks the latest salvo from a new generation of drug dealers who are
avoiding the risk of smuggling narcotics by producing their own. In 
addition to cat, college and street-level chemists have also recently 
introduced a synthetic version of heroin, police say.

"There seems to be a lot of young, bright chemistswho are getting into
the business," said Wayne County Sheriff Robert Ficano. "They've got no
concern for what they are producing, and this time, I don't think they
have any idea that they're playing with fire.

"If you tried the purest stuff for the first time, there's a 99 percent
chance that you'd do it again, and again, until you're hooked. It's about
as powerful as you can get."

A volatile elixir of pharmaceuticals and household cleansers, cat usually
contains small doses of Drano or battery acid, which acts as a catalyst. 
The drug reportedly produces a "stimulant" high, creating feelings of
exhilaration, heightened awareness and invincibility. Cat sells for 00
a gram and is typically inhaled, though some melt and inject it.

"You'd think people would be frightened to shoot up with drain cleaner,"
Ficano said. "But it's a high they'll do anything for."

Michigan state police say cat was first synthesized by college students, 
although they haven't traced its roots to a specific university. Other
amateur chemists then began to copy the formula.

Cat's creators were trying to clone a relatively mild narcotic. The khat 
leaf, used for centuries in the Mideast, has been sold over the the
counter in some Detroit stores because it has gotten by U.S. customs 
officials who don't realize it is a controlled substance.

The leaf, which also produces a burst of energy, has the lowest rating
for a controlled substance: a person caught with small amounts of the
drug will receive only probation.

Federal penalties for the synthetic counterpart, however, are harsh.
Depending on the quantity, penalties for trafficking cat range from 
10 years to life in prison, and up to a  million fine. Punishment for
possesion of the the drug is up to one year in prison and a fine of of
,000 to 50,000.

Synthetic drugs pose an unusal threat to police, who are trained to
fight dope dealers, not manufacturers.

"They're becoming one of out biggest problems," said Detroit Police Cmdr.
Rudy Thomas, head of the narcotic division. "If we could solve the crack
and heroin problem tommorrow, we'd still have to deal with these 
chemists. They're like mad scientists."

Those scientists have recently developed Fentanyl, a synthetic form of
heroin that is 20 to 30 times more potent than its predecessor. Thomas 
said the manufacturers tested Fentanyl by giving free samples to drug
addicts, and monitoring the effects. If the addict suffered harmful 
effects -- or died -- the drug went back to the lab for revisions.


-- 
To post anonymously to alt.drugs send a message to ap.4151@cupid.sai.com.
All lines after a line containing only "--" will be stripped.
Remember:  These articles are anonymous, but not secure. 
Newsgroups: alt.drugs