http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story...7&provider=rss

Garden center owner gets 30 years for selling iodine used to make meth



A federal judge in Chattanooga sentenced a garden center owner to 30
years in prison Friday morning for selling iodine used to make
methamphetamine.Advertisement



Joseph Swafford was convicted in March of all 40 counts of conspiring
to aid illegal drug manufacturing.

Prosecutors said Swafford sold large quantities of iodine to people
suspected of making the illegal stimulant in Tennessee, Georgia and
Alabama.

The defense had argued for a ten-year sentence, but federal District
Judge Curtis Collier handed down three decades in prison, saying he
hoped the sentence would help deter others tempted to illegally sell
meth ingredients.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Piper said Swafford sold enough iodine to
manufacture more than 400 kilograms of meth. Enough, he said, to supply
"every human being" in southeastern Tennessee and some counties in
surrounding states.

Swafford must also forfeit his Chattanooga business, Broadway Home and
Garden Center.

On 16 Jun 2006 20:30:13 -0700, "Jose." wrote:

Since when did Iodine become a listed substance?!
it is sold for use in water purification OTC as far as I know

must be more to this story than meets the eye or the govt has simply
gone crazy
again

It was the quantities that got him into trouble. Apparently it's like
electricity and "indoor gardening" equipment - if someone buys too much, LE
investigates. I know it's illegal to be in possession of paraphernalia used or
intended to be used in the marketting, manufacturing or consuming of certain
drugs. Perhaps they had someone undercover try to buy and got him to confirm
that he knew what it was being bought for. I think if they did that, it might
be all LE would need.
--
L8r,
Uncle Clover
************************************************
The true mark of a civilized society is when its
citizens know how to hate each other peacefully.
************************************************
"A disappearance is when someone has vanished.
A tragedy is when they were photogenic."
- a.t-c's Bo Raxo, paraphrased.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If you look at the whole life of the planet,
man has only been around for a few blinks of an
eye. So if the infection wipes us all out,
that _is_ a return to normality..."
- Sergeant Farrell, "28 Days Later"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Uncle Clover wrote:
On 16 Jun 2006 20:30:13 -0700, "Jose." wrote:

Since when did Iodine become a listed substance?!
it is sold for use in water purification OTC as far as I know

must be more to this story than meets the eye or the govt has simply
gone crazy
again

It was the quantities that got him into trouble. Apparently it's like
electricity and "indoor gardening" equipment - if someone buys too much, LE
investigates. I know it's illegal to be in possession of paraphernalia used or
intended to be used in the marketting, manufacturing or consuming of certain
drugs. Perhaps they had someone undercover try to buy and got him to confirm
that he knew what it was being bought for. I think if they did that, it might
be all LE would need.
--
L8r,
Uncle Clover
************************************************
The true mark of a civilized society is when its
citizens know how to hate each other peacefully.
************************************************
"A disappearance is when someone has vanished.
A tragedy is when they were photogenic."
- a.t-c's Bo Raxo, paraphrased.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If you look at the whole life of the planet,
man has only been around for a few blinks of an
eye. So if the infection wipes us all out,
that _is_ a return to normality..."
- Sergeant Farrell, "28 Days Later"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The thing is...
who really knows from this article!

I remember of some in RL, who merely possessed red phos. in their
upstate rocketry club and pyro
fun club--as they once had thousands of acres of stony, rocky flat
wastelands up there
to 'play on-- becoming paranoid as well as having leo look in
on their club AND their personal lives simply for ordering that one
chem LONG before it was illegal to possess

How can anyone hope to know what would constitute arrestable quantities
of a substance unless they followed the congressional quarterly every
time it came out or were up on LEO's newest witch hunt that week or
month?
As--in the US today--it is generally regarded that you are guilty
unless you can prove otherwise (at least in rl scenarios I have
seen---unless you are a politico or 'connected)

Does that mean that polar pure water purification unit I once used for
hiking should be thrown out or I might be thrown into prison as it DOES
use iodine crystals for water purification?
Heck, anyone who has been on the trail--as I was a bit as a
child--knows that
iodine crystals in a bit of water kills the bad organisms in it and
combined with a filtration unit can render unsafe water drinkable
I remember the commercial hand held units being advertised --showing
people sucking up mud-puddle water and street runoff with them and
drinkng it down seemingly with no ill effects!

How long will it go till the US govt deems Earth, wind and fire as
controlled substances?
Dont laugh!
Even at walmart they actively watch and photograph buyers of matches
and paint thinner and camp fuel they told me as I had to stand and
wait as they came over to
use a special card to allow me to buy a simple can of compressed air to
clean my computer keyboard!
Isnt that merely compressed nitrogen?
And, the hassle I had to go thru last time I had my welding tanks
filled at the gas place as they had to keep special logs and see all
receipts before selling or filling a tank as they also claimed it was
due to some sort of anti-drugs regulations
Heck, if that stuff is used in drug manufacture wouldnt they think
someone would rather just steal it than openly come buy it for their
cutting/welding purposes?
And the prices have skyrocketed due to new regs in storage of ALL their
gases and paperwork he told me....and I have watched that same co
change hands 4 times in less than five years due to onerous paperwork
and inability to turn a good profit it seems...

Thanks for making the US a less competitive place to do business or
carry on day to day activities Mr Leo alphabet man....

Any wonder China now outproduces us in high tech gear and is said to
already own over 80-85% of all US govt t-bill debt now?
They allow anyone to buy/ sell any chemical or gas or item and
whatever and it is as to the market conditions only that dictates the
price and only bother with actual drug users
when it comes to laws and punishment--not innocent sellers of
materials.
THUS, in part Im sure, China is also one of the top raw drug and
chemical manufacturers in the world today and our (US) pharmaceutical
companys buy nearly all their raw materials and manufactured drugs
powders and liquids from primarily Indian and Chinese sources as we can
no longer compete due to onerous, costly govt regulations in the
manufacturing process
They simply bottle or press and then package and sell it here (any
wonder for our high drugs prices here as well!)
We are a service industry primarily- anymore
A service industry has NO "real" competitive advantage in the world and
will wither and die

Thanks US govt for killing-off the spirit of entrepreneurship and
competition that made our country great at one time

Jose. wrote:
Since when did Iodine become a listed substance?!
it is sold for use in water purification OTC as far as I know

must be more to this story than meets the eye or the govt has simply
gone crazy
again






wrote:
http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story...7&provider=rss

Garden center owner gets 30 years for selling iodine used to make meth



A federal judge in Chattanooga sentenced a garden center owner to 30
years in prison Friday morning for selling iodine used to make
methamphetamine.Advertisement



Joseph Swafford was convicted in March of all 40 counts of conspiring
to aid illegal drug manufacturing.

Prosecutors said Swafford sold large quantities of iodine to people
suspected of making the illegal stimulant in Tennessee, Georgia and
Alabama.

The defense had argued for a ten-year sentence, but federal District
Judge Curtis Collier handed down three decades in prison, saying he
hoped the sentence would help deter others tempted to illegally sell
meth ingredients.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Piper said Swafford sold enough iodine to
manufacture more than 400 kilograms of meth. Enough, he said, to supply
"every human being" in southeastern Tennessee and some counties in
surrounding states.

Swafford must also forfeit his Chattanooga business, Broadway Home and
Garden Center.


Iodine became a federally regulated List II chemical on 10/3/96 under
the Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/ch...ies/iodine.htm

Shit... if all you god damned druggie losers would stop self-medicating none
of this would be happening. It's all you idiots that have brought this down
on us.
No demand, no supply. Stupid ****ers.

"Jose." wrote in message
oups.com...

Uncle Clover wrote:
On 16 Jun 2006 20:30:13 -0700, "Jose." wrote:

Since when did Iodine become a listed substance?!
it is sold for use in water purification OTC as far as I know

must be more to this story than meets the eye or the govt has simply
gone crazy
again

It was the quantities that got him into trouble. Apparently it's like
electricity and "indoor gardening" equipment - if someone buys too much,
LE
investigates. I know it's illegal to be in possession of paraphernalia
used or
intended to be used in the marketting, manufacturing or consuming of
certain
drugs. Perhaps they had someone undercover try to buy and got him to
confirm
that he knew what it was being bought for. I think if they did that, it
might
be all LE would need.
--
L8r,
Uncle Clover
************************************************
The true mark of a civilized society is when its
citizens know how to hate each other peacefully.
************************************************
"A disappearance is when someone has vanished.
A tragedy is when they were photogenic."
- a.t-c's Bo Raxo, paraphrased.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If you look at the whole life of the planet,
man has only been around for a few blinks of an
eye. So if the infection wipes us all out,
that _is_ a return to normality..."
- Sergeant Farrell, "28 Days Later"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The thing is...
who really knows from this article!

I remember of some in RL, who merely possessed red phos. in their
upstate rocketry club and pyro
fun club--as they once had thousands of acres of stony, rocky flat
wastelands up there
to 'play on-- becoming paranoid as well as having leo look in
on their club AND their personal lives simply for ordering that one
chem LONG before it was illegal to possess

How can anyone hope to know what would constitute arrestable quantities
of a substance unless they followed the congressional quarterly every
time it came out or were up on LEO's newest witch hunt that week or
month?
As--in the US today--it is generally regarded that you are guilty
unless you can prove otherwise (at least in rl scenarios I have
seen---unless you are a politico or 'connected)

Does that mean that polar pure water purification unit I once used for
hiking should be thrown out or I might be thrown into prison as it DOES
use iodine crystals for water purification?
Heck, anyone who has been on the trail--as I was a bit as a
child--knows that
iodine crystals in a bit of water kills the bad organisms in it and
combined with a filtration unit can render unsafe water drinkable
I remember the commercial hand held units being advertised --showing
people sucking up mud-puddle water and street runoff with them and
drinkng it down seemingly with no ill effects!

How long will it go till the US govt deems Earth, wind and fire as
controlled substances?
Dont laugh!
Even at walmart they actively watch and photograph buyers of matches
and paint thinner and camp fuel they told me as I had to stand and
wait as they came over to
use a special card to allow me to buy a simple can of compressed air to
clean my computer keyboard!
Isnt that merely compressed nitrogen?
And, the hassle I had to go thru last time I had my welding tanks
filled at the gas place as they had to keep special logs and see all
receipts before selling or filling a tank as they also claimed it was
due to some sort of anti-drugs regulations
Heck, if that stuff is used in drug manufacture wouldnt they think
someone would rather just steal it than openly come buy it for their
cutting/welding purposes?
And the prices have skyrocketed due to new regs in storage of ALL their
gases and paperwork he told me....and I have watched that same co
change hands 4 times in less than five years due to onerous paperwork
and inability to turn a good profit it seems...

Thanks for making the US a less competitive place to do business or
carry on day to day activities Mr Leo alphabet man....

Any wonder China now outproduces us in high tech gear and is said to
already own over 80-85% of all US govt t-bill debt now?
They allow anyone to buy/ sell any chemical or gas or item and
whatever and it is as to the market conditions only that dictates the
price and only bother with actual drug users
when it comes to laws and punishment--not innocent sellers of
materials.
THUS, in part Im sure, China is also one of the top raw drug and
chemical manufacturers in the world today and our (US) pharmaceutical
companys buy nearly all their raw materials and manufactured drugs
powders and liquids from primarily Indian and Chinese sources as we can
no longer compete due to onerous, costly govt regulations in the
manufacturing process
They simply bottle or press and then package and sell it here (any
wonder for our high drugs prices here as well!)
We are a service industry primarily- anymore
A service industry has NO "real" competitive advantage in the world and
will wither and die

Thanks US govt for killing-off the spirit of entrepreneurship and
competition that made our country great at one time

grunjdik wrote:
Shit... if all you god damned druggie losers would stop self-medicating none
of this would be happening. It's all you idiots that have brought this down
on us.
No demand, no supply. Stupid ****ers.

Well, now that we know that all we have to do is change human nature,
the drug problem will be solved in a jiffy!

Yeah, and if gravity worked the other way, helium balloons would be
free.

If an 80-year-old lady pulls out a cellphone in an airport, & the
security guards mistake it for a bomb & fill her with lead in front of
her grandchildren, I have news for you....it isn't the fault of the
terrorists. At some point, there has to be SOME level of over-reaction
that can be safely laid at the feet of the people in charge. The ends
may justify the means, but they do NOT justify mistakes, incompetence,
or election-year feel-good gestures.

"Darryl" wrote in message
ps.com...

grunjdik wrote:
Shit... if all you god damned druggie losers would stop self-medicating
none
of this would be happening. It's all you idiots that have brought this
down
on us.
No demand, no supply. Stupid ****ers.

Well, now that we know that all we have to do is change human nature,
the drug problem will be solved in a jiffy!

Yeah, and if gravity worked the other way, helium balloons would be
free.

If an 80-year-old lady pulls out a cellphone in an airport, & the
security guards mistake it for a bomb & fill her with lead in front of
her grandchildren, I have news for you....it isn't the fault of the
terrorists. At some point, there has to be SOME level of over-reaction
that can be safely laid at the feet of the people in charge. The ends
may justify the means, but they do NOT justify mistakes, incompetence,
or election-year feel-good gestures.

Whatever! You're smarmy little attitude shows just how ****ed-up your
world-view is. To you drug abuse is OK because it's only "human nature".
But god forbid there are EVER any mistakes made while fighting drug abuse,
because if there are then you blame the entire system. You are a hypocrite
and an enabler. I would ask you how you can sleep at night, but I already
know that you're wrapped-up tight and warm by your own self-righteousness.

Y'know... mistakes, incompetence, and feel-good gestures describe every drug
abuser I have known. So, if I have to pick between law enforcement and
druggie losers, I pick law enforcement. If you can't do the time, don't do
the crime.

Y'know... mistakes, incompetence, and feel-good gestures describe every
drug
abuser I have known. So, if I have to pick between law enforcement and
druggie losers, I pick law enforcement. If you can't do the time, don't
do
the crime.



What about the druggie losers that just happen to be in law enforcement? ,
when I first tried weed and LSD in the 70s
I bought from a druggie loser cop, that had confiscated it from someone
else.

Bet he's never done any time for his crimes.