Flashback to the Federal Analog Act of 1986: Mixing Rules and Standards in the Cauldron

INTRODUCTION....................................................................................1078 I. WHAT ARE DESIGNER DRUGS AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?...............................................................1081 A. The Federal Analog Act: History of Designer Drugs ..............1081 B. The Source of Designer Drugs: A Close Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Clandestine Chemists........1083 C. Designer Drugs: Legal Loopholes and Problems ....................1086 II. RULES VERSUS STANDARDS AND THE CURRENT STATE OF DESIGNER DRUG LEGISLATION ....................................................1087 A. Rules Versus Standards: A Witch’s Brew of Approaches in Controlled Substance Analog Legislation ..............................1087 B. Rules and Standards: Different Ingredients for Different Flavors ............................................................1089 1. Costs.......................................................................1090 2. Deterrence.............................................................1093 3. Fairness Concerns .................................................1099 III. PROPOSED CHANGES .....................................................................1107 A. Mixing Rules and Standards in the Federal Analog Act: Putting It All in the Cauldron .............................................1107 B. Practical Implementation: Changes to the Federal Analog Act ..............................................................1109 C. Institutional Responses........................................................1111 CONCLUSION........................................................................................1115