I recently read in STRIKE'S book that as of the time he/she wrote it, that you needed a "permit" to purchase glassware... Can anyone out there confirm this??? I've seen page after page of the stuff on e-bay, so what's the deal??? Do I need actual creds to purchase say a distillation kit, or the like??? BEN dOVER
you first. and no, not that I'm aware of. there are plenty of places online where you can get glassware. I got a chromatography column and a three-neck RBF on ebay. just read any disclaimers and ordering policies, if you're unsure
I'm pretty sure polymer can back me up on this when I say that a lot of those undeground drug chem books are riddled with random errors that can cause harm. I know for a fact a book I ordered for novelty, just to see the amount of work these underground guys put in called "Recreational Drugs" has an error in the MDMA synthesis that can cause a fire/explosion. Now IDK about strike's books which I believe are the total synthesis and sources books, but I wouldn't take them as a 'bible' or anything. And FWI remember, "Sources" is somewhat dated. It's good to see more shit in this subforum, though... Those books are so popular I'm surprised we don't see more questions about it. I guess there are autodidacts that become famous and all in their field, but I just can't even comprehend doing this kind of thing without a mentor. Stay safe and don't get greedy.
Strike operated out of Texas, which has a law against owning most common glassware without a permit from law enforcement. http://www.crscientific.com/texas-glassware.html http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/criminal_law_enforcement/narcotics/pages/precursor.htm http://www.sas.org/E-Bulletin/2002-03-29/feedback/body.html
I live in Texas, and haven't had a problem yet; I buy glassware at will (granted, I get most of it online), and I'm not doing anything illegal. yeah 2CEs, a lot of those books are dated; not a lot has changed regarding watched chems, though. Just the current big fad of controlling every route of meth synthesis. I've ordered tech grade nitric, delivered hazmat; but things like nitric have infinite uses in industry and even art. I've even ordered 1,4-butanediol (for which I had to fax a copy of my DL and a letter of intent), no feds ever came knocking at my door; 1,4 is also used to make plastics and lotions. the point is, if you don't attempt to purchase cat I or II precursors, or any chem in bulk, you're not really a perceived threat. paranoia exists on both sides of the law, it seems
Strike is a very good chemist, and a pretty good writer, but I would take his legal advice with a grain of salt. He was selling some very interesting chems from a company he gave a glowing review in "Sources". Clearly his risk tolerance was pretty high. I would guess it's alot lower these days. Sources is indeed dated, as any book of it's type will, do to the subject. It's got alot of good stuff about essential oils which is not subject to change, and it's a surprizingly readable book, given the topic.
Seeing as Strike (aka Hobart Huson) is currently IN JAIL for his chemical supply activities, you might be right... NBC's "Dateline" program dedicated an entire episode to the the Hive, Strike, and the MDMA manufacturing scene. They interviewed Huson at his chemical business, and forced him to admit his identity on-air. He made a LOT of dumb mistakes, which eventually bit him in the ass. I think the show is available via bittorrent somewhere. Well worth watching if you missed it when it aired.
come to think of it, I walked into a local head shop, and bought a 500ml Erlenmeyer flask. cops go in and out of there all the time, and the shop owner still sells E. flasks and even Florence flasks. Texas is pretty apathetic, unless there's a big bust looming. in 2000 (shortly before leaving to NM), someone online initially thought that I was Strike on some forum, probably because of my locale at the time (San Antonio), and my knowlegde of various psychoactives and how they could be synthed; but I quickly mentioned that I'd never have such risky ambitions as eluesis and co. , wasn't worth losing all my college work. Strike made some avoidable mistakes; he got cocky, and thus, careless...particularly with his bulk reagent and solvent purchasing
From what I understand, the Texas glassware law is rarely enforced unless the cops want a pretext to come snooping around or bust someone for some other reason. A look at the list of items that are prohibited leaves little doubt that the real intent is to provide a pretext to bust anyone at any time. One of the items on the list is "transformers"! Not specifically a variable autoformer such as would be used to control a heating mantle in a lab, but simply a "transformer". Any home with an electric doorbell could conceivably be raided the way that law is written! These are the worst kinds of laws--laws written in such a way as to make anyone a potential criminal, subject to the discretion of the local cops.
oh yeah, really vague laws... somehow it's like a "necessary and proper" clause to reserve such ambiguity in the way laws are enforced as well.
