Yeah the sad truth of it is if you’re really into this “hobby”, it’s a smart idea to have money put aside for a lawyer.. and many contingency plans in place. Wouldn’t hurt to familiarize yourself with your local and federal criminal codes too.
To the topic at hand.. this is like the elephant in the room to me. There’s a few members I talk with one an one, and at this juncture I probably send more messages regarding this very topic than I do about chemistry itself.
Setting things up so you can be comfortable is really a must. If you’re going to have a fully functional lab lying around, it’s best if it’s sitting in a state that if the wrong visitors come knocking, you don’t have a prison sentence waiting inside. This is easier said than done of course, but strict adherence to this is really crucial.
Also one of the best strategies for maintaining sanity is simply to give myself permission and plan to take breaks. The lab can stay in place really - if it’s maintained , ‘properly’ labelled and everything illegal is gone. Leave it for a while. When the itch return (and it will), wait longer, set a date maybe a couple months out, plan the time off work, do some research and planning - acquire reagents as safely as possible (and secure them somewhere else), then when the time comes do all the work in a week or so… then return everything to its proper state of ‘harmless home chemist playing with inorganic salts’ ala sciencemadness.
Seems like a lot of us have secondary issues (well maybe not secondary), I’m talking about addiction. Believe it or not I’m actually a fully committed and participating member of a well known 12 step program and have been for years. There is a bit of a murky gray area here for things, me personally .. look I’m a REAL addict. All the brain power in the world isn’t enough for me to beat what happens in my brain when I use amphetamine, methamphetamine, or any opiate… psychedelics not really the same story so I draw a line there. But who am I do be experimenting with novel stimulants (new to me at least) knowing what I know about myself and having experienced what I’ve experienced? I go back and forth about the issue in my head quite a bit but the real truth is, it’s not for me. Would take me to a bad place, and when I get out of control I end up in prison. Period. I’m not going back. Not fucking doing it. It’s not worth it it’s just NOT.
My heart goes out to everyone who is currently active, best wishes and in spirit I’m with you, but it’s recently been impressed upon me that to get back into it without 100% setting things up to be as safe as possible, just isn’t something I’m willing to do. Though hopefully when the time is right… well you know.
At the end of the day, large private property in the middle of nowhere really is the best way to go for security and for sanity. At least the weather in my hemisphere is getting a little better for that kind of endeavor..
I’m rambling but, yeah, hang in there guys. Shits stressful as fuck. A few years back I lost something like 40 lbs in 3 months, stone cold sober, doing ‘work’, from the stress (I don’t eat when I’m stressed) alone.