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fapjack
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Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ)
#21829150 - 06/19/15 05:57 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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http://www.nj.com/union/index.ssf/2015/06/springfield_scientist_made_club_drug_prosecutor_sa.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured
SPRINGFIELD — A senior scientist a Merck pharmaceuticals now faces drug charges after receiving a large delivery of a chemical commonly used to synthesize gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, commonly known as the club drug GHB, at his home, authorities said.
Kurt Romondt, 44, of Springfield, was arrested at his house Thursday and charged with maintaining a controlled dangerous substance production facility, a first-degree crime, said acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said today.
Romondt is also charged with second-degree possession of GHB with the intent to distribute, and a related third-degree drug charge, Park said.
Investigators searched Romondt's home and seized a package containing 2,745 grams of gamma-butyrolactone, which is used to to synthesize GHB, along with approximately 300 milliliters of GHB, a scale and materials used to process and produce the drug, Park said.
The arrest resulted from a joint investigation of the prosecutor's office Guns, Gangs, Drugs, and Violent Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Springfield Police Department.
GHB has been labeled a date-rape drug due to its rapid sedative effects when administered in larger quantities.
Although GHB is a naturally occurring substance, it can also be produced chemically and has multiple uses and a range of effects as an illegal recreational drug, authorities said.
They said small amounts are used as a stimulant and produce euphoric feelings, while larger amounts are used by athletes to stimulate the production of human growth hormone in the body.
Romondt is being held on $200,000 bail at the Union County jail in Elizabeth.
First-degree crimes carry a maximum penalty upon conviction of 20 years in prison. Second-degree crimes are punishable by a maximum 10 years in prison upon conviction.
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my3rdeye



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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: fapjack]
#21831141 - 06/20/15 02:41 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
fapjack said:
GHB has been labeled a date-rape drug due to its rapid sedative effects when administered in larger quantities.
The language they use. Labelled a date rape drug by police even though they can never actually point to any cases where it has been used as a date rape drug. Unlike alcohol, which is never called a date rape drug in any story. But it will be a factor in hundreds of rapes just this weekend. Anyway a lot of people think ordering some GBL and making your own GHB is a minor thing, this guy has 200 000 dollars bail and is looking at potential 20 years and he only had 300 milliliters of GHB.
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Murzelpfrumpft
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: my3rdeye]
#21831341 - 06/20/15 05:21 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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But what an idiot. He could have made it himself unsuspiciously but decided to order it to his house. Doesn't seem like a clever senior scientist to me.
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Fractal420
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Murzelpfrumpft]
#21831517 - 06/20/15 07:33 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Grams of GBL? Its a liquid... Realistically 1ml of GBL is equivalent to about 1.4g of ghb so.... This seems like its just a 1 Iiter bottle of gbl that anyone could order... And he had been doing a hydrolysis to make it safer? This is *not* a "drug lab" just someone trying to convert their GBL....WOW.
And 300ml of GHB is even less than if it was gbl. Wtf... That bottle of GBL probably cost around €90-150. Tops. This is absolutely insane.
Nobody (i hope) actually uses ghb for date rape... If accusations like that were to be made, alcohol is a date rape srug.
It sucks that it has that stigma. But also its not completely illegal either. GHB is a pharmaceutical sold under the brand name "Xyrem".
Edited by Fractal420 (06/20/15 07:37 AM)
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fapjack
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Fractal420]
#21831617 - 06/20/15 08:14 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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You can make GHB from GABA, the whole situation sounds rather suspect. Either he was a lazy/shitty chemist or it was someone else in his house that ordered it.
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FunnyLight
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: fapjack]
#21832818 - 06/20/15 03:36 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Seems they're cracking down on GBL imports. I've seen a couple people go down from being naive to these things.
Be careful out there yall!
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Alan Rockefeller
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: FunnyLight]
#21833535 - 06/20/15 07:07 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
FunnyLight said: Seems they're cracking down on GBL imports.
I came to this thread to say the exact same thing. One of our long time users who wrote a lot of famous grow teks recently got busted with several thousand hits of acid after ordering GBL to his place. Customs found it and sent the state police with a warrant.
I think they have the addresses of the places flagged, either that or the xray machines automatically recognize the bottles that it comes in.
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Fractal420
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#21835345 - 06/21/15 03:13 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Ive never heard of a problem with it, but i dont know if all HDPE cleaner bottles are examined for G.... Would be very weird. Like i said above (and others), this whole bust is really about the GBL it seems. A liter of it does not seem like a reason for $200,000 bail...holy shit imagine that just because you bought some gbl cleaner. Its not like g has been in the news lately or anything, and i dont see it expect from very very few people who happen to like it. But its not used all that much, it seems to me. Also i dont know that anyone actually uses it for date rape, thats been the main stigma against G for a long time, but i think thats just something some piece of shit did in the 90s, and it ruins Ghb and gbl forever? Since when is gbl so serious? I have heard that restrictions on gbl were lifted a bit and you could soon order impure gbl at least (for industrial purposes)
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LSDylan
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Alan Rockefeller]
#21835583 - 06/21/15 06:09 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Alan Rockefeller said:
Quote:
FunnyLight said: Seems they're cracking down on GBL imports.
I came to this thread to say the exact same thing. One of our long time users who wrote a lot of famous grow teks recently got busted with several thousand hits of acid after ordering GBL to his place. Customs found it and sent the state police with a warrant.
I think they have the addresses of the places flagged, either that or the xray machines automatically recognize the bottles that it comes in.
This is happening in Europe? Or where? I just saw people talking using euros so I assumed...
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fapjack
Title



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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Fractal420]
#21835866 - 06/21/15 08:50 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
Fractal420 said: Ive never heard of a problem with it, but i dont know if all HDPE cleaner bottles are examined for G.... Would be very weird. Like i said above (and others), this whole bust is really about the GBL it seems. A liter of it does not seem like a reason for $200,000 bail...holy shit imagine that just because you bought some gbl cleaner. Its not like g has been in the news lately or anything, and i dont see it expect from very very few people who happen to like it. But its not used all that much, it seems to me. Also i dont know that anyone actually uses it for date rape, thats been the main stigma against G for a long time, but i think thats just something some piece of shit did in the 90s, and it ruins Ghb and gbl forever? Since when is gbl so serious? I have heard that restrictions on gbl were lifted a bit and you could soon order impure gbl at least (for industrial purposes)
GBL is considered a rape drug legally under the Date-Rape Drug Prohibition Act. If they can prove you are intending on using it for consumption or sale for consumption the charges are the same as GHB. Also GBL for other uses is still a list 1 chemical, penalties for illegally importing a list 1 chemical are strict. As well as being a precursor its also an analogue. If you want to import GBL you need to register with the DEA and go through a whole shit ton of legal hurdles, you can't just import it. And no one legitimate business in the US sells it. They send people to prison for that type of shit all the time for importing precursors.
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubs/manuals/chem/chem_manual.pdf
That is a link to the process if you are interested.
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Fractal420
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: fapjack]
#21836287 - 06/21/15 10:36 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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I used to see ads all the time just a few years ago and it really seemed like no big deal. Even google advertised GBL vendors (and not long ago!). I dont personally like it as i get stomach acid BUT i never thought it was *that* strict. Well, i guess with the date rape stuff it becomes alot more controversial. But really, thats what people do with alcohol.
Either way, good to know not to take such risks. This stuff was even in vitamin shops...
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fapjack
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Fractal420]
#21836631 - 06/21/15 11:49 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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It used to be sold in hardware stores as well because it is a useful polar solvent.
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Ojom
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: my3rdeye]
#21836915 - 06/21/15 01:00 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
my3rdeye said:
Quote:
fapjack said:
GHB has been labeled a date-rape drug due to its rapid sedative effects when administered in larger quantities.
The language they use. Labelled a date rape drug by police even though they can never actually point to any cases where it has been used as a date rape drug.
Try again. The following individual used it in that manner repeatedly. https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Andrew_Luster
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Murzelpfrumpft
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Ojom]
#21837197 - 06/21/15 02:09 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Yeah, whatever, it's easy as hell to get substances to commit a date rape with, except that with GHB they might be into it on their own.
There is a problem with GBL/GHB - it's lethal as fuck, especially in combination with other downers. Just makes you black out and stop breathing. You can't hand that out to people by the litre. But putting a prohibition on it is far worse for known reasons.
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Gorlax



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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Murzelpfrumpft]
#21837975 - 06/21/15 05:11 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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That sucks. This does seem like a little bit over board for a lil bit of GBL.
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Mykes logos
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: Gorlax]
#21838265 - 06/21/15 06:13 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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They're super serious about regulating the stuff. I'm narcoleptic and GHB (in the form of the medication called Xyrem) is a popular nightly sleep medication for us... but only one company makes it and has the patent, so it's super expensive- I think the cost of it has gone up like 10x since it originally came out.
it'd be like $8,000 a year even with my insurance, so I've never considered using it for financial reasons. Also, you have to be on some program and see your sleep specialist like once a month or two, and sign for the package at your door once a month when it comes.
So with that said, it makes sense that there's so much demand for it on the black market and that they're cracking down on it so hard.
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Alan Rockefeller
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: LSDylan]
#21839341 - 06/21/15 09:17 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
LSDylan said: This is happening in Europe? Or where? I just saw people talking using euros so I assumed...
USA.
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I_was_the_walrus
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: fapjack]
#21839757 - 06/21/15 10:44 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
The arrest resulted from a joint investigation of the prosecutor's office Guns, Gangs, Drugs, and Violent Crimes Task Force, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Springfield Police Department
I wonder what prompted the investigation. They had all of these agencies working together for a few hundred mLs of GHB?
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Toadstool5
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: I_was_the_walrus]
#21839808 - 06/21/15 10:57 PM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
But what an idiot. He could have made it himself unsuspiciously but decided to order it to his house. Doesn't seem like a clever senior scientist to me.
Thats immediately what i thought! With what he had access to... He decides to do GBL->GHB?!? WTF?
If he was a senior then i need to apply for a job there!
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Alan Rockefeller
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Re: Scientist charged with making drugs in his Springfield home(NJ) [Re: I_was_the_walrus] 1
#21840531 - 06/22/15 03:21 AM (8 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
I_was_the_walrus said: I wonder what prompted the investigation.
He ordered GBL from overseas and customs found it.
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