From: aankrom@nyx.cs.du.edu (Anthony Ankrom)
Subject: Re: arcane rearrangement
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Date: Sat, 5 Sep 92 22:33:56 GMT

In article <4411@equinox.unr.edu> whitbeck@equinox.unr.edu (Michael Whitb
ck) writes:
>Perhaps your interests in amphetamine chemistry are
>scholarly and not bent towards criminal activity or
>irresponsible actions. But you need to remember that
>net postings are a little like writing on a wall-
>anyone can read them. That includes high school kids
>(some of whom may lack your good judgement) and who
>knows who else.
>
>As chemists we MUST be aware that we posess
>knowledge which can do great harm if misused. That
>is why I personally would decline from reducing the
>chemistry of drug or explosive production to simple
>step-by-step instructions for the layperson. I
>realize that may not be what you were seeking in
>your post but that might have been the
>interpretation taken by a responder.
>
>I fully believe that most of the subscribers to this
>group are NOT chemists but rather individuals with
>an interest in chemistry as a hobby- more power to
>them. Still I often see posts, with or without the
>"I'm not a chemist but...", with very bad advice
>given. Advice that if followed naively by another
>"I'm not a chemist but..."-type could cause real harm.
>Accordingly some of us who are chemists react quite
>negatively to some postings. If your interests lie
>in pharaceutical chemistry you'll find a whole range
>of topics besides amphetamines. 
>
>Mike
>


 
 It wasn't merely the chemistry of amphetamines that I was interesting in
in the posted article. It was largely the nature of the mechanism of the
reaction. I suppose I should have realised that the possibility for
illicit use of the knowledge I was asking about would have been met with
stern disapproval, but I wasn't asking how to make amphetamine. I was
asking about the particular reaction mechanism at hand. The context in
which I had encountered the reaction had merely been with a description of
the synthesis for MDA in Alexander Shulgin's book _Pikhal_. (A marvelous
book with something for everyone who has an open mind...) I read the
refference and was intrigued by the mechanism. I have e-mailed the
question to ALexander himself, but he is a very busy man. (It took him
over a month to respond to my last message but I understand how busy he
is...)
 I am sorry for possibly sounding like an enterprising, young drug
manufacturer looking for another sneaky way to make methamphetamine. I
suppose some day it will be a crime to be curious about organic chemistry
in all of its aspects and applications that are not stricly dictated by
our government. T
 If anybody still has the original article that I posted and knows
anything about what I asked about, I would greatly appreciate a response.
My knowledge of organic chemistry is fairly robust, so I really need only
references, but I would greatly appreciate any insite that a chemist who
has a lot of lab experience might have.

St. Anthony   <-- a man not content with turning water pink...


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