Talk:Designer drug

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A lot of this article should probably either be merged into Research chemical or deleted. 80.203.115.12 11:18, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Definition too narrow

I find that the scope of the definition should be widened. A designer drug is just a designed drug, right? The purpose of designing drugs can vary greatly. Getting around prohibitionist laws is only one possible reason. Modifying or enhancing the action of established drugs is another one. Increasing their potency or decreasing side effects. Creating tools for mapping brain areas to cognitive functions. And so on. Plus, pure academic interest can be a motivation. That's basically why Shulgin did it I think.

That is what it should mean. That definition encompasses almost all recreational and medicinal drugs.

However if the definition is drugs designed as analogs to avoid drug laws then MDMA, 5-MeO-DMT, GBL, 1,4-Butanediol should all be removed. None of these was created as an analog for another drug. The definition of designer drug should not include drugs that already existed, but were not illegal.

they aren't are designer drugs. i feel 1,4B and GBL shouldn't be there, since they weren't designed in the first place, but were commodity chemicals. i feel 'designer drug' refers to those molecules specifically designed, and built by synthesis, but not only for the purposes of evading drug laws.

Fact is the term designer drug as popularly used is a perjorative loaded term with no meaning. It is a scare word to frighten the ignorant and stupid.

Whereas the term research chemical in reference to psychoactive drugs is very useful as it implies that it is an experimental chemical that we dont know enough about to be sure its reasonably safe. There really should be a research chemical article and all of Shulgins chemicals should be moved there. I totally agree with the above that designer drugs dont exist outside the minds of prohibitionists.