Re: Recreational pharmaceuticals by genetic engineering

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 10:06 AM -0700 7/10/97, Alan wrote:
>On Wed, 9 Jul 1997, Steve Schear wrote:
>
>> I know this is off-topic for the list...
>>
>> But why hasn't some cleaver graduate student engineered a common mold or
>> yeast to yield easily extracted (or directly ingestible) common
>> recreational pharmaceuticals?  Ideally it would be a perpetual source, like
>> sour dough starter, and easily cultured.  Once distributed to the street it
>> would be impossible to stop or track (since no controlled chemicals would
>> be required for production).
>
>I had expected someone to cross blue-green algae with the part of canibus
>that produces THC.  I would love to see something that would have the DEA
>try to haul off people who have pond scum in their bird feeders and the
>like.  (Anything that will make them look even more absurd...)

Speaking of which, I recall that the origins of LSD were from some kind of
fungus or "rust" found on some types of grain.

And there's that other type of fungus, the mushroom.

I expect Steve is right that someone will find a way to engineer a
drug-producing common mold or yeast. The profit motive, per se, will not be
much of an impediment, provided the costs of development are not huge. I
can think of many who would participate, were any reasonable directions
apparent.

BTW, this was a topic of conversation several years ago in the nanotech
discussion group I was in: home chemistry with instructions dowloaded from
the Net. Sort of a "Click here to download manufacturing instructions for
LSD."

(Downloaded into a tabletop production machine, of course.)

We are probably still several decades away from the mechanosynthesis form
of nanotech, presumably less far away from biological forms.

Such "dangerous knowledge" will join bombmaking instructions in being added
to Fineswine's law. Downloading of instructuctions for NC machine tools,
too, if the instructions are for zip guns and even real guns.

--Tim May

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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