Ergocristine
Ergocristine is an ergopeptine and one of the ergot alkaloids. As of February 24, 2010 ergocristine has been federally regulated. Because of the existing Controlled Substances Act regulatory controls on the LSD precursors lysergic acid, lysergic acid amide, ergotamine, and ergonovine, clandestine laboratory operators have sought uncontrolled sources of precursor material for the production of LSD. This has led to the illicit utilization of the precursor chemical ergocristine as a direct substitute for ergotamine and ergonovine for the illicit production of LSD. In fact, the largest clandestine LSD laboratory ever, William Leonard Pickard and Clyde Apperson, that was seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) utilized ergocristine as the LSD precursor according to court documents. The DEA determined that ergocristine was readily available from commercial chemical suppliers. DEA had identified at least three suppliers of ergocristine, of which one distributor is locate ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ergopeptine
Ergoline is a core structure in many alkaloids and their synthetic derivatives. Ergoline alkaloids were first characterized in ergot. Some of these are implicated in the condition of ergotism, which can take a convulsive form or a gangrenous form. Even so, many ergoline alkaloids have been found to be clinically useful. Annual world production of ergot alkaloids has been estimated at 5,000–8,000 kg of all ergopeptines and 10,000–15,000 kg of lysergic acid, used primarily in the manufacture of semi-synthetic derivatives. Others, such as lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD, a semi-synthetic derivative, and ergine, a natural derivative found in '' Argyreia nervosa'', ''Ipomoea tricolor'' and related species, are known psychedelic substances. Natural occurrence Ergoline alkaloids are found in fungi such as Claviceps purpurea, Claviceps paspali, and the related Periglandula, which have a permanent, symbiotic bond with numerous flowering vines, most notably ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Precursor Chemical
In chemistry, a precursor is a compound that participates in a chemical reaction that produces another compound. In biochemistry, the term "precursor" often refers more specifically to a chemical compound preceding another in a metabolic pathway, such as a protein precursor. Illicit drug precursors In 1988, the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances introduced detailed provisions and requirements relating the control of precursors used to produce drugs of abuse. In Europe the Regulation (EC) No. 273/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on drug precursors was adopted on 11 February 2004. (European law on drug precursors) Illicit explosives precursors On January 15, 2013, the Regulation (EU) No. 98/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the marketing and use of explosives precursors was adopted. The Regulation harmonises rules across Europe on the making available, introduction, possession and u ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ergot Alkaloids
Ergot ( ) or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungus, fungi of the genus ''Claviceps''. The most prominent member of this group is ''Claviceps purpurea'' ("rye ergot fungus"). This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its fruiting structure (called ''ergot sclerotium''). ''Claviceps'' includes about 50 known species, mostly in the tropical regions. Economically significant species include ''C. purpurea'' (parasitic on Poaceae, grasses and cereals), ''C. fusiformis'' (on pearl millet, buffel grass), ''C. paspali'' (on dallis grass), ''C. africana'' (on sorghum) and ''C. lutea'' (on paspalum). ''C. purpurea'' most commonly affects Open pollination, outcrossing species such as rye (its most common host), as well as triticale, wheat and barley. It affects oats only rarely. ''C. purpurea'' has at least three races or varieties, which differ in their host specificity: *G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of with a mostly temperate Humid continental climate, continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec. The Duchy of Bohemia was founded in the late 9th century under Great Moravia. It was formally recognized as an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire in 1002 and became Kingdom of Bohemia, a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, all of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy. Nearly a hundred years later, the Protestantism, Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years' War. After the Battle of White ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total population of over 84 million in an area of , making it the most populous member state of the European Union. It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The Capital of Germany, nation's capital and List of cities in Germany by population, most populous city is Berlin and its main financial centre is Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr. Settlement in the territory of modern Germany began in the Lower Paleolithic, with various tribes inhabiting it from the Neolithic onward, chiefly the Celts. Various Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating illicit Illegal drug trade, drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act, sharing concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The DEA is responsible for coordinating and pursuing U.S. drug investigations both domestically and internationally. It was established in 1973 as part of the U.S. government's War on Drugs, war on drugs. The DEA has an DEA Office of National Security Intelligence, intelligence unit that is also a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community. While the unit is part of the DEA chain-of-command, it also reports to the Director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence. The DEA has been criticized for sche ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clyde Apperson
William Leonard Pickard (born October 21, 1945) is one of two people convicted in the largest lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) manufacturing case in history. In 2000, while moving their LSD laboratory across Kansas, Pickard and Clyde Apperson were pulled over while driving a Ryder rental truck and a follow car. The laboratory had been stored near a renovated Atlas-E missile silo near Wamego, Kansas. Gordon Todd Skinner, one of the men intimately involved in the case but not charged due to his cooperation, owned the property where the laboratory equipment was stored. On July 27, 2020, Pickard was granted compassionate release from federal prison 20 years into his sentence. Background Prior to his arrest, Pickard was deputy director of the Drug Policy Research Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. He came from a well-to-do family; his father was a lawyer and his stepmother was a fungal disease expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In high school, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Illegal Drug Trade
The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of drug prohibition, prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibitionism, prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The think tank Global Financial Integrity's ''Transnational Crime and the Developing World'' report estimates the size of the global illicit drug market between US$426 and US$652billion in 2014, which is equal to the UK's national debt alone. With a Gross world product, world GDP of US$78 trillion in the same year, the illegal drug trade may be estimated as nearly 1% of total global trade. Consumption of illegal drugs is widespread globally, and it remains very difficult for local authorities to reduce the rates of drug consumption. History Prior to the 20th century, governments rarely made a major effort to proscribe recreational drug use, though sever ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ergot
Ergot ( ) or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus ''Claviceps''. The most prominent member of this group is '' Claviceps purpurea'' ("rye ergot fungus"). This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its fruiting structure (called ''ergot sclerotium''). ''Claviceps'' includes about 50 known species, mostly in the tropical regions. Economically significant species include ''C. purpurea'' (parasitic on grasses and cereals), ''C. fusiformis'' (on pearl millet, buffel grass), '' C. paspali'' (on dallis grass), ''C. africana'' (on sorghum) and ''C. lutea'' (on paspalum). ''C. purpurea'' most commonly affects outcrossing species such as rye (its most common host), as well as triticale, wheat and barley. It affects oats only rarely. ''C. purpurea'' has at least three races or varieties, which differ in their host specificity: *G1 – land grasses of op ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Clandestine Operation
A clandestine operation (op) is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed by the general population or specific enemy forces. Until the 1970s, clandestine operations were primarily political in nature, generally aimed at assisting groups or nations favored by the sponsor. Examples include U.S. intelligence involvement with German and Japanese war criminals after World War II or the botched Bay of Pigs Invasion in 1961. Today these operations are numerous and include technology-related clandestine operations. The bulk of clandestine operations are related to the gathering of intelligence, typically by both people ( clandestine human intelligence) and by hidden sensors. Placement of underwater or land-based communications cable taps, cameras, microphones, traffic sensors, monitors such as sniffers, and similar systems require that the mission go undetected and unsuspected. Clandestine sensors may also be on unmanned und ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |