h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

a simple solution to reduce the uptake of drugs by young people is to
take all the drugs that have been confiscated and reprocess them
introducing substances that would make the drugs unsaleable.
once the drugs have been prepared an anouncement can be made warning
that these drugs are being reintroduced into the dealer network.

ecstasy tablets cuold be ground down and such substances as a diuretic or a laxative added - imagine the despair in the toilet at clubs & raves -spoiling many an expensive outfit.
an alternative could be a couloring agent that would froth up in the
mouth inevitably staining both hands & mouth. if it is like the stuff
used to protect money it will be very difficlt to wash off.
if clothes & shoes are stained they would possibly be ruined having a
far greater effect on yougsters than anything else.

drugs that need to be set alight or heated up could be made to burn up so quickly that the user would get next to no enjoyment from it.

People would still take them. If they are happy risking death and disease every time they indulge, why would a bit of poo or frothing at the mouth worry them?

I think that death and disease have little meaning to people, particularly kids and teenagers. However, the other effects mentioned in that post may be perhaps slightly more "real" to them.

You could even just destory the drugs, and send dummy drugs (like the ones they use sometimes in hospitals to make sure that you really need the medication) out - affected in a similar manner.

Just a thought...

Lifson

I don't think this idea would be all that effective- a lot of dealers cut their drugs with other substances to increase the volume and therefore the amount they sell and therefore their profits.
Sometimes they are cut with things like sherbert, flour or sugar, but disturbingly often they are cut with anything 'suitable' that the dealer has to hand- washing powder, aspirin and even rat poison. Basically, if the colour and texture is right, in it goes: A dealer is usually bothered about one thing- profit. The safety of his clients is not usually forefront by the sheer nature of the 'job'.

My point is, people take this stuff all the time, they're not going to be bothered about the addition of some dye or a laxative.]

TK