Dmitry Lopatin, a 26-year-old scientist who invented a cheap new kind of solar battery, has come across an unexpected obstacle. He was slapped with a three-year suspended jail sentence, for using banned materials in his invention. The researcher was facing 11 years behind bars, but the prosecutor's office dealing with the case agreed that a suspended sentence would suffice, the TASS news agency reported.
From rt.com:
Lopatin got in trouble with the authorities for using a solvent called gamma-Butyrolactone in order to make his solar batteries. It turned out this was a banned substance in Russia. He had placed a mail order for the solvent from China, and he was arrested when he went to collect it from the post office in June.
The researcher had tried to use a different substance, but found that it was too toxic to work with.
"In my work I was using a solvent which is toxic and can cause cancer. That is why I tried to find a substitute. I found one via the Internet and ordered it," he told RT.
"A month and a half later the parcel reached customs and I was called in and detained. Police launched a criminal case against me and I was interrogated. There were several court hearings. I chose to order from China because of the strict laws there. I had no idea that in China I could order a solvent which is banned in Russia."
Given that he is a researcher, is the use of the banned substance reasonable?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @12:49AM
What's missing from the summary is the reason why GBL is banned. Wikipedia has the reason:
It looks like in most places you can get licensed to handle the stuff. The researcher should, in theory, have gotten such a license. In practice, who knows how hard that is in Russia?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @01:12AM
The idea that a substance is banned just because it can be converted to a recreational drug is just dumb.
(Score: 1) by _1156277 on Monday July 20 2015, @01:40AM
It's the same as banning the recreational drug itself.
And for GBL, it's so easy to convert to GHB that it can be done with only baking soda, a steel cooking pot, water, and a stove top. In fact, it can be ingested directly and converted in-vivo to GHB.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday July 20 2015, @02:08AM
Another reason to ban dihydrogen monoxide; it's used in the processing of recreational drugs.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Funny) by anubi on Monday July 20 2015, @04:12AM
Don your tinfoil hat for this one.
I guess you know that when you combine 1 liter of dihydrogen monoxide with five liters of oxidane [chemindustry.com] ( again, a very common solvent ), you get six liters of a substance that has been has been "among the top causes of accidental death worldwide, accounting for 7 percent of all injury-related deaths according to the World Health Organization." [huffingtonpost.com]
Thank God I live in California and this dangerous substance is in short supply.
It is now safe to remove your tinfoil hat.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @09:13AM
Well, it gets really dangerous if you add some hydrogen hydroxide to the mix.
Note that while most people know about the danger of getting it into the lungs, few people know that also drinking it can kill you. [wikipedia.org]
BTW, that substance should be banned also for another reason. By just applying some electricity to it, you can convert it into an explosive! [wikipedia.org] Also note that one of the ingredients is also used in thermonuclear weapons! [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1) by anubi on Monday July 20 2015, @11:47PM
For good measure, drop a liter or two of hydroxilic acid into the mix.
( "hydroxilic acid" is also known as "hydroxic acid" ).
This is some really nasty stuff... handle it with caution.
This stuff is so nasty that under pressure, it is commonly used to cut fabrics for textile garments [wikipedia.org]... like a knife. It'll take your fingers off as fast as a table saw!
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Monday July 20 2015, @09:42AM
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @08:55AM
Well, glue is used as recreational drug as is. Maybe it should be banned.
Oh, you want to glue something? Too bad.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anal Pumpernickel on Monday July 20 2015, @10:05PM
Recreational drugs shouldn't be banned in the first place.
And the mere fact that something could be abused does not mean it should be banned. Using that logic, we should ban knives, hands, feet, and everything else in existence. This is just authoritarian nonsense, and sadly it is not limited to countries like Russia.
(Score: 1) by treeves on Tuesday July 21 2015, @03:28AM
It's not just a recreational drug. It's known as a "date rape drug". You need a license from the DEA to get it in the USA also.