The production of illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine and amphetamines requires the use of chemicals. However, these chemicals have primarily large and varied legitimate uses, for example in the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plastics and perfumes. These chemicals are referred to as drug precursors. Drug precursors are rarely produced by the criminals that intend to use them in the illicit manufacture of drugs, as their production often requires substantial infrastructure. Therefore, criminals try to divert these substances from the licit trade. This pattern (which had informed international and EU legislation regarding drug precursors until now) is suffering changes with the advent of the so-called designer-precursors (see p.4 et seq).

The trade in drug precursors is not in itself prohibited because of their important legitimate uses. Effective monitoring and control of the legitimate trade of these chemicals is the best way of fighting against their diversion for illicit drug manufacture. To this end, a specific regulatory framework has been set up both at international and at EU level....