The Decline of Synthetic Drugs
Smart shops in the Netherlands have been known in the past to sell synthetic substances that were not (yet) illegal under the Dutch Opium Act. The sale of synthetic drugs not explicitly approved as food, supplements or medicines is illegal in the Netherlands. It is dealt with by the relatively benign machinery of the Warenautoriteit (Commodities Authority) rather than in criminal law, as would be the case with controlled substances. Yet, this has made it effectively impossible to sell them in a formal retail setting, even if their production and possession is entirely legitimate. Smart shops have attempted no further marketing of synthetics since they tried to sell methylone as a "room odorizer" but were ultimately forced to pull it from their shelves in 2004, though it can still be obtained under the counter in some shops.
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