Researchers are beginning to understand the ingredients contained in research chemicals, but often, this research lags months or years behind the manufacture of drugs out on the street. By the time researchers understand what is in these drugs, the manufacturers have changed the drug formulation and/or the dosage in the drugs. As a result, people who take research chemicals are flying blind, unsure of what is in the drugs they take, and unsure of how those chemicals will react within their bodies. These human guinea pigs may tell researchers a significant amount about how the drug works, and what it can do, but researchers often can't return the favor and inform their patients about how the drugs work.

Even if researchers know what the drugs contain, they may still not quite know how the ingredients work and what they are meant to do in the human body. Since so little is known about research chemicals, and the formulations in each product can shift and change, it's almost impossible to predict the drug's:

Addictive potential
Health hazards
Safe dosage level
Long-term impact
Overdose level

It's worth repeating that people who take these drugs do so at their own risk, walking blindly into the situation without the experience of science behind them. It's not something most people would do, if they understood the risks. However, most people simply have no idea that these drugs are dangerous. In an article in the journal Current Clinical Pharmacology, researchers suggest that it's easier to read about user experiences of these drugs, and that peer-reviewed studies on this drug are very hard to find. As a result, people looking for trusted information about research chemicals may only find first-person accounts of what the drug is like to take, and this may not be the sort of information people can use in order to make informed decisions about their drug use.
Legal Status

Since these drugs are powerful, and incredibly dangerous, it would be reasonable to expect that all countries would move to ban these drugs as quickly as possible. According to an article published by the English newspaper The Guardian, Britain has made these drugs illegal and many other countries have followed suit. However, there are many other countries in which research chemicals are still considered legal. These countries often have very specific laws in which drugs must be identified by chemical name and active ingredient before they can be deemed illegal. To skirt these laws, manufacturers simply twist one molecule or change one tiny ingredient. With a slight modification like this, the drug is legal once more. Many drug manufacturers in the United States are using this tactic in order to stay in business.

Some research chemical manufacturers use tricky marketing techniques in order to skirt the laws. Instead of stamping dosages and drug names on the items they sell, they use these words on their drugs:

For professional use only.
Not for human consumption.
For research purposes.
Laboratory-grade ingredients for research.

These terms may help some producers skirt the laws, as they may be able to claim that they did not intend for their buyers to take the drugs they sold. By placing the blame on the buyers, for doing something the sellers never asked them to do, these manufacturers may also be able to skirt the laws in their countries.
Buying Research Chemicals

The U.S. Department of Justice reports that these drugs are often made in clandestine laboratories, and they're often sold on the Internet. It's remarkably easy, in fact, to run a search for €research chemicals€ online and find hundreds of manufacturers willing to ship drugs in discreet boxes that would elude detection by nosy roommates, vigilant parents or law enforcement officials. Some dealers buy the drugs in bulk and sell them on the street, but since it's so easy for people to find them online, it seems like this is the route most users take.