Manchester University Press
8 The floodgates of criminal anarchy
Abstract
The regulation of amphetamines, starting in 1968 and resulting in their prohibition under the revised Opium Act of 1976 led to the development of an underground production. In the 1990s this underground chemistry expanded. It supplied Europe with a large part of its illegal synthetic drugs. The geographical position of the Netherlands, its logistical infrastructure and excellent transport routes by car or ferry into the rest of Europe all contributed to the rise of this export industry. So too did the presence of a chemical industry that supplied the underground with the necessary raw materials and precursor chemicals. Different cultures came together in the constitution of underground chemistry and trade. Idealists convinced they could create a better world by a better chemistry set up an illegal LSD production and trade that was embedded in the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s and remained rather apart from amphetamine and XTC production. Idealists were also involved in establishing the first production lines of MDMA and related compounds. When regulation made markets illegal while demand soared, criminal entrepreneurs noticed and took their chances and came to dominate the supply side. Criminal entrepreneurs connected to the smuggling cultures of the south of the Netherlands, as well as from the cities in other parts of the country, and later outlaw motorcycle gangs moved in on the amphetamine and XTC production and trade, sometimes in alliance with idealists.
Abstract
The regulation of amphetamines, starting in 1968 and resulting in their prohibition under the revised Opium Act of 1976 led to the development of an underground production. In the 1990s this underground chemistry expanded. It supplied Europe with a large part of its illegal synthetic drugs. The geographical position of the Netherlands, its logistical infrastructure and excellent transport routes by car or ferry into the rest of Europe all contributed to the rise of this export industry. So too did the presence of a chemical industry that supplied the underground with the necessary raw materials and precursor chemicals. Different cultures came together in the constitution of underground chemistry and trade. Idealists convinced they could create a better world by a better chemistry set up an illegal LSD production and trade that was embedded in the counterculture of the 1960s and 1970s and remained rather apart from amphetamine and XTC production. Idealists were also involved in establishing the first production lines of MDMA and related compounds. When regulation made markets illegal while demand soared, criminal entrepreneurs noticed and took their chances and came to dominate the supply side. Criminal entrepreneurs connected to the smuggling cultures of the south of the Netherlands, as well as from the cities in other parts of the country, and later outlaw motorcycle gangs moved in on the amphetamine and XTC production and trade, sometimes in alliance with idealists.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- Acknowledgements vii
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 The interwar period 23
- 3 Global perils I 41
- 4 Cannabis, counterculture, and criminals 74
- 5 Global perils II 110
- 6 The expansion of the cannabis trade after 1976 153
- 7 Global perils III 188
- 8 The floodgates of criminal anarchy 215
- 9 Conclusion 266
- Appendix 272
- Bibliography 275
- Index 293
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of figures vi
- Acknowledgements vii
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 The interwar period 23
- 3 Global perils I 41
- 4 Cannabis, counterculture, and criminals 74
- 5 Global perils II 110
- 6 The expansion of the cannabis trade after 1976 153
- 7 Global perils III 188
- 8 The floodgates of criminal anarchy 215
- 9 Conclusion 266
- Appendix 272
- Bibliography 275
- Index 293
