In the previous column, it was pointed out that illegal drugs, in some cases, went metric even before pharmaceutical drugs. The practical reasons adduced for this early metrication were: (1) illegal-drug commerce is international, cultivated in the Middle East and processed in Latin America, where the drugs are packaged by the kilogram and cut into grams and submultiples thereof; (2) the metric system is most practical for measuring the small quantities involved, whereas a blunt measurement tool like the obsolescent (avoirdupois) ounce is not. But, an entirely different origin for the use of metric quantities for illegal drugs has also been advanced. A "rocker" named Owsley Stanley was a well-known pusher of the hallucinogenic LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) in its early days and claimed credit for the use of metric in his business. In spite of its illegality, at least Stanley was said to have had high standards for the quality and purity of his "product."
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