With black market chemists working around-the-clock to circumvent global narcotics sales laws, synthetic drugs have taken the global market by storm. From North America to Europe, legal chemical alternatives to conventional illicit drugs are popping up at an alarming rate. With new chemical substances being instantly created to replace those banned by updated laws, the dangers posed by this cat-and-mouse game have never been greater.

Historically, global narcotics enforcement laws have focused on regulating specific chemical compounds. Traditionally, this strategy has worked in containing and preventing the rapid spread of illicit drug use. Today, that is changing with the rise in popularity of synthetic designer drugs.

Sold as “research chemicals” for hobbyist chemists, these potentially lethal drugs can be sold over-the-counter anywhere from smoke shops to convenience stores giving potential consumers far easier access to them than conventional narcotics. How will authorities cope with the dangers of this growing black market with chemists constantly tweaking formulas to circumvent new regulations made to end their trade?

Speaking with former addicts, chemists, family members of victims and current synthetic drug users; ‘The Molecule Movers’ takes viewers into the world of black-market chemistry.