Sassafras
Sassafras Albidum
Common Names
Sassafras, ague tree, cinnamon wood, common sassafras, red sassafrass, saxifras, smelling stick, white sassafras.
Ecstasy by numbers
£30 the amount growers are paid for each kilogram of essential oil extracted from the sassafras tree bark.
Chemical companies, often based in China, then convert the oil into piperonyl for legitimate uses such as pesticides and perfumes. The compound, however, is also the raw ingredient for ecstasy.