America’s Secret Drug War: Part 2—The Chemist

The scourge of synthetic drugs had become so terrifying—and perplexing—by 2012 that the Drug Enforcement Administration openly acknowledged its seemingly unending challenges. Arthur Berrier was a senior DEA chemist on the issue, and, in an interview that summer, he lamented how the government was playing “whack-a-mole,” trying to keep up with all of the new compounds cropping up.

His boss was interviewed, too. When pressed on how the DEA would keep up, Jeffrey Comparin, the head of a specialized DEA lab tackling the issue, said: “Hire more guys like Arthur.”

In retrospect, it’s unclear if the DEA thinks Berrier was a good hire…following his conviction. Read Part 2 of Bloomberg Law’s two-part investigation.

Missed Part 1? Start here.