Question: How hard would it be to order supplies online to whip up a lucrative batch of fentanyl? Answer: "Astonishingly easy," declares Reuters after some of its reporters did exactly that. More specifically, the journalists shelled out a total of $3,607.18 (mostly in bitcoin) and bought enough chemical "precursors" for $3 million worth of pills. Of course, they didn't actually make any pills and instead safely destroyed the chemicals and materials they purchased. But turning the material into fentanyl "would have required just modest lab skills and a basic grasp of chemistry," the story explains. In fact, one fentanyl maker in Mexico—a man who dropped out of school at age 12—spoke of how easily he picked the skill up as a lab apprentice.
"It's like making chicken soup," he says. "It's mega-easy making that drug." One problem for regulators is that the chemicals used to make fentanyl are commonly used in legit industries, meaning it's not a simple matter of outlawing them. That's a big reason Reuters' reporters were able to order them with a tap on a phone from Chinese sellers and have them shipped in nondescript boxes to locales in the US and Mexico. The story does not offer a precise how-to on how people can go about this, but it does provide a general overview of the process. The takeaway? "Anyone with a mailbox, an internet connection and digital currency to pay the tab can source these chemicals," reads the story. Check it out in full here. (Or read other longform recaps.)
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