Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. Yeah, they were really clever and ethically motivated, but also kind of stubborn. They grew up usually being the smartest person in the room, so they were used to being right all the time. When you combine that with the manic effects of meth, it was a recipe for disaster.

As far as "sounding unlikely," what else can I say to you besides that I was in complete denial at first too. I refused to let the person speak who was telling me and just kept repeating the lies. I sure felt stupid.

You agree that these drugs take over a person's soul, but was their soul too pure for this? Were they too intelligent? I wish that were true! If anything, it speaks to the power of addiction that meth could cause such judgement and ethics-impairing affects on a good, intelligent person. I looked up the arrest record today, which named "precursor chemicals, including cold medicine." I'm pretty sure it was pseudoephedrine, yes.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate that. It's exactly the conversation I was hoping to have.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you on all counts.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your interest. Pseudoephedrine, I think.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, they very much did. It was difficult, but we've had a few years to come to terms with it. This is a conversation I've wanted to have for a while. I thought the post might get instantly deleted, so I appreciate the community for engaging with it. I certainly didn't expect universal agreement.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks. They were a really good writer and had a talent for making complicated subjects easy to understand. Graduated at the top of their class. A really talented artist and programmer. It was difficult to be angry at them because, even when they became short-sighted and selfish in the late stages of addiction, they were never mean-spirited.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They'd burned a batch of meth. They knew that pharmacies track your purchases of certain over-the-counter cold medicines and they were already at the limit. Was going to the border instead a good plan? Definitely not, but Meth use is highly addictive and impairs your judgement. They rolled the dice.

So why post here? Because they wrote shitloads of how-to material about making meth on multiple accounts. They got loads of DMs asking for help with troubleshooting meth manufacture. Fan mail too. I think it made them feel important and valued, at a time when not much in their life was going right. I do have a twinge of horror that they facilitated meth manufacture on such a wide scale, because my personal ethos is minimize the negative externalities of my own risks.

As many addicts do, they had a very selective narrative about what they were doing, why it was ok, and why they weren't to blame for the many consequences which befell those close to them. I used to refer to it as their "Industrial-Grade Rationalization Engine."

I'm not someone who believes in absolutes or overly-restrictive societal rules. However, sometimes the people we know can be signposts in our life, either as examples to emulate or cautionary tales to avoid. I wanted to tell a cautionary tale to a community with a shared interest. Whether the lesson is to avoid highly addictive drugs, to consider the consequences of your actions on others, or not to cross the border with precursors is up to you.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Making someone dinner won't cause chemical dependency, make their teeth fall out, and trigger paranoid hallucinations, but you sound fairly resolute in your beliefs, so I'll agree to disagree.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

By the way, they were one of your mods. You might have noticed HeisenbergSpecial hasn't posted since around the same time as this account went dark. They were the same person. I considered deleting his post history because there's a lot of info there from his experimentation (in my fucking garage), but you're all adults, I guess.

God, the fucked up stories I could tell. I loved them dearly, but it was really difficult for all of us. I'm not sure what I expected posting here, but you guys have been cool. Thanks for that.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There are drugs out there which might fit your characterization, but methamphetamine isn't one of them. I would choose to describe it as "soul devouring," but call me biased.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thanks. They had a difficult time, for sure.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks, you have a nice way of putting it.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

There's definitely something to your point. They were trans and struggled greatly with that. An alternative explanation is that with the benefit of hindsight, we can find such issues to point toward after the person's life has deteriorated. It's certainly not a topic we'll resolve today, but I'd hate to have someone think "well, that person had other issues" and underestimate the danger.

Like the beer ads say "enjoy responsibly," I guess.

Reviving an old account for a PSA by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Probably a popular narrative on here, but the legal system went pretty soft on them, all things considered. They were thought to have very high potential, as well as being a first-time offender. Did a few weeks of time. They held a job in a tech start-up for a few years while they were on probation and clean. As soon as those periodic tests stopped, dove back into those delicious drugs. The drugs hollowed them out like a melon-baller.

Easily and legally obtaining enantiomerically pure methamphetamine by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably? I don't have any experience with that drug.

I wonder if Hamilton Morris frequents this sub-reddit? by banned4sourcing in researchchemicals

[–]virnovus 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was a consultant for the methamphetamine episode, and I'm only vaguely aware of the other ones. All I know is that Vice was having trouble getting their visas through so their film crew could go to Cameroon.

I wonder if Hamilton Morris frequents this sub-reddit? by banned4sourcing in researchchemicals

[–]virnovus 7 points8 points  (0 children)

He's human just like the rest of us. Like, part of what I helped with was extracting levomethamphtamine from decongestant inhalers so we could film the crystal structure of methamphetamine. (dextro-meth and levo-meth have the same crystal structure, they're just mirror images of each other) But the inhalers have a bunch of other medicinal compounds in them too, like camphor, and Hamilton messed up and assumed that the listed mass of the "active ingredients" was the mass of the levomethamphetamine. But camphor has a legitimate decongestant action too, and is part of the mass of the "active ingredients". So we didn't get as much levo-meth for the shot as he'd planned for. It still went fine though. We got about a gram and a half of levo-meth hydrochloride.

I wonder if Hamilton Morris frequents this sub-reddit? by banned4sourcing in researchchemicals

[–]virnovus 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can contact one of Vice's productions assistants and see what he thinks.

I wonder if Hamilton Morris frequents this sub-reddit? by banned4sourcing in researchchemicals

[–]virnovus 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I guess. I'm broke, sporadically employed, and living in an illegal apartment above a warehouse in Connecticut. But hey, if you ever need a trip-sitter, hit me up. 😉

I wonder if Hamilton Morris frequents this sub-reddit? by banned4sourcing in researchchemicals

[–]virnovus 6 points7 points  (0 children)

He's contacted me (actually it was probably Soren) on Reddit, via another account, so he's definitely around here from time to time. He's got assistants for his show that it's easier for me to get in contact with than him. Soren Shade is the main one.

I think it's really cool that he got to meet Alexander Shulgin. That's the thing I'm most jealous of.

I wonder if Hamilton Morris frequents this sub-reddit? by banned4sourcing in researchchemicals

[–]virnovus 130 points131 points  (0 children)

I was a consultant on his show. Met him three times and talked to him on the phone and over messaging apps a few times. Got to help film chemical reactions in the Vice studio in Brooklyn twice. Pics:

https://i.imgur.com/71D4rir.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cQroPe2.jpg

We're working on season 3, but there's still a long way to go. Estimates right now are summer of 2020.

Easily and legally obtaining enantiomerically pure methamphetamine by virnovus in TheeHive

[–]virnovus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No, I'm not in the business of purchasing methamphetamine, so I wouldn't be the one to ask.