Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act

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The Chemical Diversion and Trafficking Act of 1988 was an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act to regulate precursor chemicals, essential chemicals, tableting machines, and encapsulating machines by imposing record keeping and import/export reporting requirements on transactions involving these materials. Prior to these restrictions being put in place, the U.S. had been the primary source of chemicals used in South American cocaine manufacture. According to the DEA, the Act sharply reduced these precursor exports and cocaine manufacturers responded by purchasing from chemical suppliers outside the U.S. The U.S. in turn successfully lobbied for inclusion of chemical controls in the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which included two Tables of controlled precursors.