Hi everybody. I don’t know how this question will be received but I feel like some members here may have some unique information.
My question is essentially this: is there any way for the average person to do psychedelic research outside of academia without being persecuted? By this, I mean being able to publicly publish research under your name, or under a moniker that is not entirely anonymous. I understand that he couldn’t have any scheduled chemicals, first and foremost. Shulgin managed to create this kind of research environment, but was he an outlier and an exception?
One wonders how they could legitimize their research lab so that it wouldn’t appear to be a clandestine setup that could be busted and persecuted. Alerting authorities of your intentions could lead to an immediate raid or prevention via permitting and red tape. On the other hand, keeping it quiet would give them all the more reason to believe that the lab is clandestine. To reiterate, he would not be doing ANYTHING illegal; the lab would never contain scheduled chemicals or produce anything to be sold. Were Shulgin’s legal connections alone what allowed him to do what he did without being persecuted?
The first step would seem to be finding a country other than the United States in which to work. As we are all aware, the DEA doesn’t mess around and they would very likely find legal minutiae with which to persecute the researcher or at least dismantle the lab. They almost managed to do this with Shulgin. I’m thinking heading north or to one of the more hospitable Latin American countries would be two viable options. One would also need a secluded rural area, which would abate public health concerns and generally keep the research out of people’s hair. Also, despite the fact that other countries are more suitable, do you think it would be possible to pull this off in the US?
The other issue would be chemical access. Would Sigma-Aldrich or a similar chemical supply company give you an account and access, or would you be shunned for your lack of titles and connections? Obviously if you were chemically savvy you wouldn’t need anything especially rare or sketchy because you could just go through a few extra steps. Still, you would need a lab full of equipment and the typical reagents, catalysts, and solvents.
I remember hearing in a Shulgin interview that authorities could not use the complex safety regulations against him because he was the only one working in the lab. Does anyone have access to this legislation and/or familiarity with the nuances and loopholes? Safety regulations seem like one of the ways in which authorities could dismantle an otherwise legitimate research lab, so this information would be very helpful.
Because this might come across as sketchy, I feel like clarifying that this is merely a pipedream and, more importantly, it specifically involves not committing any crimes.
My question is essentially this: is there any way for the average person to do psychedelic research outside of academia without being persecuted? By this, I mean being able to publicly publish research under your name, or under a moniker that is not entirely anonymous. I understand that he couldn’t have any scheduled chemicals, first and foremost. Shulgin managed to create this kind of research environment, but was he an outlier and an exception?
One wonders how they could legitimize their research lab so that it wouldn’t appear to be a clandestine setup that could be busted and persecuted. Alerting authorities of your intentions could lead to an immediate raid or prevention via permitting and red tape. On the other hand, keeping it quiet would give them all the more reason to believe that the lab is clandestine. To reiterate, he would not be doing ANYTHING illegal; the lab would never contain scheduled chemicals or produce anything to be sold. Were Shulgin’s legal connections alone what allowed him to do what he did without being persecuted?
The first step would seem to be finding a country other than the United States in which to work. As we are all aware, the DEA doesn’t mess around and they would very likely find legal minutiae with which to persecute the researcher or at least dismantle the lab. They almost managed to do this with Shulgin. I’m thinking heading north or to one of the more hospitable Latin American countries would be two viable options. One would also need a secluded rural area, which would abate public health concerns and generally keep the research out of people’s hair. Also, despite the fact that other countries are more suitable, do you think it would be possible to pull this off in the US?
The other issue would be chemical access. Would Sigma-Aldrich or a similar chemical supply company give you an account and access, or would you be shunned for your lack of titles and connections? Obviously if you were chemically savvy you wouldn’t need anything especially rare or sketchy because you could just go through a few extra steps. Still, you would need a lab full of equipment and the typical reagents, catalysts, and solvents.
I remember hearing in a Shulgin interview that authorities could not use the complex safety regulations against him because he was the only one working in the lab. Does anyone have access to this legislation and/or familiarity with the nuances and loopholes? Safety regulations seem like one of the ways in which authorities could dismantle an otherwise legitimate research lab, so this information would be very helpful.
Because this might come across as sketchy, I feel like clarifying that this is merely a pipedream and, more importantly, it specifically involves not committing any crimes.
Keep us posted!
