Well before you earn your PhD I would expect you to be able to make other types of chemicals which are not illegal, even though they may be equally as toxic and

Well before you earn your PhD I would expect you to be able to make other types of chemicals which are not illegal, even though they may be equally as toxic and only about 10X less profitable. But you could sell more than 10X as many kilos of legitimate materials and not be limited to only a clandestine supply chain, so the financial upside alone is way better by comparison. Criminal organizations are limited to the clandestine activities and prefer them anyway, you've got to figure they're making lots more money per kilo, but sometimes I would think they might only be coming out ahead by not paying any taxes. I do think they spend a lot of money on "insurance" but it's not going to legitimate insurance companies either. As a professional you'll never need to stoop that low, and they'll never be able to reach as high as your actual baseline.