To wonder why my teen is stealing sugar?

[Tessliketrees]

One of my kids (both teens) is stealing the sugar. I don't know which one.

I noticed a brand new bag of sugar had vanished last week, I assumed it had been spilled by one of the kids who had failed to mention it. Actually that didn't really make sense at the time because neither of them is capable of cleaning a bag of sugar so well. Either way I forgot all about it.

Now a second bag has disappeared.

It's not me, its not DH. Nobody else has had access.

What the fuckity fuck is going on?

• buy less for more money I mean.

@babsthebuilder is talking sense

Whilst I'm sure we all agree that dealing drugs is a silly thing to do, it doesn't follow that the people dealing drugs are intellectually challenged. It is a relatively high risk choice - illegal, unethical, risk of harm to yourself, really hard work actually with long hours, not hugely profitable unless you're at the top.

However you actually have to be decent at business to be a drug dealer - logistics, accounting, mental arithmetic, negotiations, building up a client base, dealing with underlings etc.

It is also a massive myth that dealers intentionally cut their drugs with poison. Similar to the 'one pill will kill you' school of thought.

AFAIK most users would be aware it's likely to be cut with something although may harbour fond delusions about the trustworthiness of their dealer. People do get surprised and sometimes accidentally overdose if an unusually pure batch hits the streets. But I don't really know any users any more.

@Intomyarms street drugs being of a very low purity are totally accepted, of course people would want higher purity but that is more expensive and harder to buy (have to go up the chain to more scary people and make large transactions)

Sorry to piss on the party. Kid I knew at school was making bombs in his dad's garage using sugar as an ingredient. I remember because I can clearly recall thinking htf would anyone know to to that (pre internet). He blew his hand off.

Most drugs, if cut at all are cut with powdered glucose, readily available all over, or powdered asprin/paracetamol.

He's not cutting drugs with granulated sugar. I'm not having it.

aaaaaand the thread is derailed.

"does the buyer know it is cut"

Buyer assumes nothing is 100% but hopes it will be relatively pure.

"is it a way of tricking the buyer to pay more for less"

Yes.

"is it expected because pure drugs are even more dangerous?"

No You have a taste and see how strong/pure it is, then repeat if/when necessary. So consumer more or less the same amount of the active substance according to the effect & duration you desire. (Sort of like sprinkling salt on your food. If salt is cut, it will be less salty. You will keep sprinkling it until the food is to your taste.)

One exception to this (I hear) is injected substances like heroin which you don't taste/test and which can kill if really pure.

@CoteDAzur that I’m entering in to a completely off topic argument which I actually don’t have time for. No skin off my nose. I’m only here to find out what happened to the flaming sugar at the end of the day

Yeah OK, whatever you say.

You already entered the conversation when you said that drugs are cut with rat poison in your experience.

@Insomnibrat generally benzocain and caffeine for street cocaine!

I think a vice study in 2015 put street cocaine in London at 25%-40% purity.

Btw I certainly hope MNHQ are NOT letting MNers delete their posts for "reasons" such as "I don't have time for this conversation"

I mean ...you could probably cut MDMA with sugar ... tends to be swallowed in bombs or rubbed on gums than sniffed (to avoid the explosive vomit) or tipped into drinks. Tastes like absolute shit so sugar might make it better? If tipped in a drink no-one would notice at all. Precrushed MDMA tends to look more granulated.

Then again maybe you couldn't use sugar for that...off to watch more drugs documentaries (hopefully with Louis thoreaux)

Back in my day, MDMA was in Es (at least you would hope so ) so in pill form. Given its horrendous taste, I can't quite imagine anyone rubbing it on gums or otherwise keeping it in their mouth for absorption.

Drugs are usually cut/diluted with

Lactose.
Paracetamol.
Bicarb of soda.
Phenacetin.
Ascorbic acid.

and usually in the sort of industrial quantities one finds at pharmaceutical suppliers.

It doesn't have to be a controlled or recreational drug to be in illegal demand.

Granulated sugar is useless as a diluent as it's too, well, granular.

Whatever the cutting agent, it has to superficially match the drug it's being cut into, very fine and free flowing.

If the kiddo is dealing drugs, he's probably earning enough money not to raise suspicion by stealing bags of sugar.

Well this thread went a bit weird.

I’m plumping for toffee apples (and hopefully not home made gunpowder).

My tuppence?

Either eating it or trying something stupid with home made 'fireworks'.

That video someone posted above about how to make sugar rockets is amazing. If I lived near a desert I'd give it ago! I imagine it is very much the sort of thing that would appeal to a teen.

OP I loved your description of one of your children: -

The oldest is some sort of lying master who would make a spymaster blush with his lying improv.

I go for burying a tracker in the bottom half of a new bag and resealing it. Job done.

We need to know!!

@cote , it's still in pills but also sold in powder form and then rolled into little tissue paper balls and swallowed , 'dabbed' aka rubbed into gums or poured straight into drinks.

What's a pet mould

My tuppence? Either eating it or trying something stupid with home made 'fireworks'.

Same here, My money's on sugar-based rocket fuel or some kind of crazy 'fireworks' experiment, too.

@KingMortificados That was me, I think, and ISN'T IT FASCINATING??? I'd love to try it myself!

This mystery is killing me, though!

If it is drugs, you think the teen dealer is going to neatly measure out the required amount in his mum's kitchen? No, he's going to swipe the whole bag, cut the drugs somewhere they don't think they'll get caught, and dump the rest of the bag

Fucking hell this took a turn.

No big update, had a horrific day at work and came late.

Oldest is out again, probably in the make shift drug lab/jam factory.

Youngest is upstairs and I cannot summon the energy to say the word sugar to him. Tried to bring it up this morning and he accused me of going round the bend, elaborate double bluff?

DH is sat looking a bit shifty though.

It's definitely DH! Make up some elaborate ruse to flush him out -
convince him the police have been round doing a sugar-audit due to missing fertiliser or something!