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88-Year-Old Inventor Hassled By the DEA

Posted by Soulskill on from the get-off-his-lawn dept.

New submitter Calibax writes "30 years ago, Bob Wallace and his partner came up with a product to help hikers, flood victims and others purify water. Wallace, now 88 years old, packs his product by hand in his garage, stores it in his backyard shed and sells it for $6.50. Recently, the DEA has been hassling him because his product uses crystalline iodine. He has been refused a license to purchase the iodine because it can be used in the production of crystal meth, and as a result he is now out of business. A DEA spokesman describes this as 'collateral damage' not resulting from DEA regulations but from the selfish actions of criminals."

8 of 757 comments (clear)

  1. Not just meth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It can also be used to create an explosive compound that shall remain nameless.

    1. Re:Not just meth by sortius_nod · · Score: 5, Informative

      Nope, that's the ether that causes meth labs to explode. I won't go into details, but you use a shitload of ether in amphetamine production.

    2. Re:Not just meth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      It can also be used to create an explosive compound that shall remain nameless.

      Why should it be nameless?

      Nitrogen Triiodide

      Censorship will never prevent misuse, only perpetuate ignorance. It is better to explain that this compound explodes violently, and at the smallest touch (starts at about 1:00).

  2. Yet Another Terrible Flamebait Slashdot Summary by schnell · · Score: 5, Informative

    I hate to read TFA and I hate to defend the DEA (did we learn nothing from Prohibition?) but once again this is a sloppy and wholly misleading article summary (thanks Slashdot!) To wit:

    • The DEA doesn't think he's running a meth lab, they think people who run meth labs are buying his product to use.
    • The DEA has started keeping a much tighter rein on the active ingredient in his product in order to keep it out of the hands of the aforementioned meth labs (just like they did a couple years back with buying decongestants using psuedoephedrine). His response was:
    • He was supposed to pay $1200 for a license to handle this chemical and refused.
    • He was asked to keep tabs on who bought the product to the extent that he would report "suspicious" bulk purchasers. He refused.
    • The DEA asked him for proof that he has security where his product is made to keep people from stealing the active ingredient. He sent them a picture of his dog sitting in front of his garage.
    • He also does not appear to be able to tell the difference between the DEA and the TSA, as the article points out. This does not suggest he is good at dealing with bureaucracy.

    As much as I like this guy and his sense of humor, it seems much less sinister than the Slashdot linkbait summary indicates. It appears to be a pretty simple case of "government restricts chemical that can be used in meth labs, old guy making product in his garage with said product doesn't want to deal with the government bureaucracy and is surprised when the government shuts off his access to that chemical."

    --
    "95% of all Slashdot .sig quotes are incorrect or completely fabricated." -Benjamin Franklin
    1. Re:Yet Another Terrible Flamebait Slashdot Summary by dcollins · · Score: 5, Informative

      He had no competitors, apparently. This action just put the entire market for this particular product entirely out of business.

      Looking at the Wikipedia article right now, these iodine crystals were a low-cost and high-water-volume alternative to dissolving iodine tablets, and Polar Pure is the only product of its class mentioned.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_water_purification#Chemical_disinfection

      --
      We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
    2. Re:Yet Another Terrible Flamebait Slashdot Summary by Overzeetop · · Score: 5, Informative

      And they know that small operators don't have the resources to do that. The NAR and Tripoli (model/amateur rocket organizations) sued the BATFE for classifying Ammonium Perchlorate based propellants as explosives, when the BATFE's own testing showed that the burn rate was a small fraction of their _own_ limit for what constitutes and explosive. It took a decade and a six figure legal bill to beat them in court.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  3. The list of controlled chemicals by Animats · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's the DEA's list. Those marked as "List 1" are the most restricted. It's not that long a list. Iodine is the only chemical on List 1 that isn't particularly hazardous.

  4. Re:Motherfuckers. by jcr · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ron Paul's position on evolution is that it happens, and that it's not the whole story. He makes this clear in his book, Liberty Defined:

    The creationists frown on the evolutionists, and the evolutionists dismiss the creationists as kooky and unscientific. Lost in this struggle are those who look objectively at all the scientific evidence for evolution without feeling any need to reject the notion of an all-powerful, all-knowing Creator. My personal view is that recognizing the validity of an evolutionary process does not support atheism nor should it diminish one’s view about God and the universe.

    In a nutshell, it's the same position that the Anglican church reached in the decade or so after Darwin published the Origins of Species.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."