in this sort of situation cops usually assume at “street level” the substances are class A – for small amounts people are often offered cautions which they usually accept as its less hassle than Court and also benefits the cops as it looks good on their targets which are “to reduce class A use”
for larger amounts there is a forensic test and if this comes back as mcpp there is a possibility of a Medicines Act charge for selling medicines without a license – which is less harsh than being done for deception!
(although a deception charge has been handed to to dealers selling wholly
inert substances)
someone selling mcpp is unlikely to get any major criminal penalty, but the stuff isn’t completely legal, its classed as a prescription only medicine because piperazine (its base chemical) is in this category
this pre-emptive classification of drugs is still under legal scrutiny though (the MHRA [1] and CPS are in discussions over piperazines) so its a bit of a lottery as to what the legal situation is..
[1] Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority, part of the NHS/DoH
