UK - Casey Hardison - 20-year Prison Sentence for LSD Manufacture

[entin]

Drugs manufacturer convicted

A court case involving one of the largest drug manufacturing operations ever uncovered by Sussex Police ended today.

Casey Hardison, a 33 year old American living near Brighton, was convicted on six counts following a two-month trial at Lewes Crown Court.

Hardison had denied manufacturing hallucinogenic drugs in a home-made laboratory he set up in a rented property in The Vale, Ovingdean.

Sentence has been adjourned until next month.

DC Neil Cuttriss, of Sussex Police Crime and Drug Unit, said afterwards: "The back bedroom of the property was entirely used as a laboratory for the production of drugs.

"The lab was capable of producing huge amounts of hallucinogenic drugs and was unusual in that Hardison had set it up for the simultaneous production of more than one drug.

"It was one of the most sophisticated and complex operations Sussex Police has seen.

He said it was an 'extremely complex' investigation involving many agencies, including police in the USA.

"We have prevented hundreds of thousands of doses of drugs being created and sold on the street."

Police seized 145,000 doses of LSD and a variety of other drugs in small amounts.

Other substances were seized that could make up to 350,000 doses of other drugs.

DCI Peter Laverick from Sussex Police Operations and Intelligence Branch said: "Sussex Police is in the business of tackling crime locally, as well as tackling crime at a more serious and organised level.

"We will pursue criminals such as Casey Hardison and seize the profits they make. Hardison manufactured simulated drugs for profit regardless of the harm they cause and the potential risk to lives of others.


http://www.sussex.police.uk/news_fee...uniqueid=12488

[DrugPhreak]

"We will pursue criminals such as Casey Hardison and seize the profits they make."



That's what the War on Drugs is all about!!! If these drugs were legalized, governments would not exist!Edited by: DrugPhreak

[poweredbyhate]

Wow.



That's pretty impressive that one person was producing that much LSD in
a bedroom. I did some searching and found another article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/e...es/4362841.stm



It says:

"Hardison was arrested after a parcel he sent to the US was randomly checked and found to contain four bags of ecstasy.
</font>



After the find, officers monitored Hardison before arresting him in the Sanctuary Cafe in Hove in February 2004.
</font>



When his house was raided police uncovered a drugs factory and a fridge full of chemicals."

</font>
That's too bad... someone like him shouldn't be behind bars.

[DrugPhreak]

Yep, this is sad. The FDA is mainly funded by pharmaceutical companies and they are both the cause of a high number of deaths every year around the world by selling the drugs they put out that are considered safe just because they are legal etc, but the average drone does whatever the doctor and government says is right and do not question anything.The FDA,pharmaceutical companies, and thepublic health commission are the source of an enormousamount of problems... vastly greater than any illegal drug has supposedly caused. Currently in the time a person is three years old they will havereceived 90+ shots if they follow along with the immunization programs, which they don’t have to do of course, but they are always told otherwise. They try to shove this garbage into your child because the public health commission gets a profit for every shot the child is given. Long term studies on these shots show that they are linked to all types of health problems, but of course they suppress this info. Suppression is one of the government’s specialties. They have repressed many inventions that could benefit the planet and people’s lives greatly. They have also assassinated people because if some ofthese devices/technologies got on the market it would put a hole in the pockets of big business executives, share holders, and many people high up in the government. The FDA requires that "Has not been approved to cure an illness" warning on the bottles of herbs for this very reason. Herbs can in fact cure a person, but you can’t patent an herb so the profits are not large enough for them! Doctors/hospitals also get huge discounts on the drugs they prescribe if they meet the quotas set forth by the pharmaceutical companies so they try to push as much as possible in the shortest length of time. Other sectors of the government are no better... the <ST1:CITY><ST1:PLACE>ADA</ST1:PLACE></ST1:CITY> allows mercury to be used in the usualdental filling.Mercury has serious health risks of course and is a cumulative poison… once it enters your tissue it’s impossible to remove unless it’schelated beforehandwith Zinc/Selenium or a man made Rx (which is also quite toxic) so the body can draw it out or it builds up to a critical level and then health problems start or you die!


Also, many people are extremely misinformed about what happens to their food that is sold at the average supermarket. The government and big business farmers mass produce everything… be it vegetation or livestock. It’s all about maximizing profits so they try their best to speed up mother nature every which way by using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, irradiation, and genetical modification etc etc and they treat the animals horrible and kill them without knocking them out first, which releases a high amount of neurochemicals into the soon to be consumed meat. All these aforementioned chemicals/processes have been linked to all types of cancer and other aliments and are very toxic to the earth and to the people that consume them and also go against nature, but of course these are all government approved also as they make plenty of money this way. Many additives and chemically modified food ingredients cause problems also. This barely scratches the surface when it comes to all the hardships the government has caused people… well the government anyway. Most people are bombarded on a daily basis with all this toxicity and then wonder why they got sick with this or that… they are not aware of what is really going on or do not care. Then they run to the doctor and take some pills, which has the ability to make the situation worse and really only acts as a bandage anyway and they continue to eat the previously mentioned infested food etc and get sick again. It’s a vicious cycle! Most people are knee deep in shit and they wonder why it stinks! Of course there are many factors involvedwhen it comes to maintaining your physical and emotional health, but before the government can point the finger at anyone for being greedy and endangering someone’s life they need to change the way they function in a radical way, which I don’t see happening anytime soon.<O:P></O:P>
&lt;/rant&gt;Edited by: DrugPhreak

[unico_walker]

I'm convinced the reason the FDA went after GHB was the threat it posed to pharmaceutical firms.

Dirt cheap to produce, and incredibly effective as a sleep aid and anti-depressant, and for social anxiety.

I challenge you to find one person ever date raped with na-GHB, its
just impossible to hide the taste of sufficient in anything but salt
water, now GBL or BDO I'll believe but people didn't turn to them until
GHB got yanked, self fulfilling prophecy eh?



Of course some assholes did shit like trying to get higher than shit
and driving on it, but people now talk about how cool it is to drive on
a 3rd plateau dose of DXM omfg ban robitussin!!!11

[adzket]

if drugs where legal ofcourse gov would exsist as they would tax us all for useing them like with alcohol and tobbaco

[Creeping Death]

No, because people dont need the goverment to grow their own stuff. Fucking pussies.

"Hardison manufactured simulated drugs for profit regardless of the harm they cause and the potential risk to lives of others"

Whats that when it comes to LSD. 5-6 people? What about the well being and happiness of the remaining 144,994 people? I feel bad for you guys in britain.

[adzket]

yeah but not every one has time patshionts or kolage to grow or make there own people want it now instant gratification so there will always be need for places to just go and buy from without hastle so if it where legal the gov would tax it.

[Alfa]

chemist guilty of making drug

Police found a drugs factory in Hardison's back bedroom
An American chemist has been found guilty of running one of the largest drug factories ever detected in Sussex.

Lewes Crown Court heard Casey Hardison, 33, of The Vale, Ovingdean, near Brighton, set up an LSD laboratory in his back bedroom.
Armed with chemicals and DIY drugs recipe books he produced hallucinogenic tablets with a value of up to £5m.
Police said it was the one of the most sophisticated operations ever seen. Hardison will be sentenced on 15 April.

'Complex operation'
Hardison was arrested after a parcel he sent to the US was randomly checked and found to contain four bags of ecstasy.
After the find, officers monitored Hardison before arresting him in the Sanctuary Cafe in Hove in February 2004.
When his house was raided police uncovered a drugs factory and a fridge full of chemicals.
The court was told that Hardison made the drugs using £38,386 worth of chemicals he brought from pharmaceutical companies.

Smuggling drugs
Det Con Neil Cuttriss said the investigation had involved many agencies, including police in the USA.
"We have prevented hundreds of thousands of doses of drugs being created and sold on the street," he said.
Hardison was found guilty of three counts of producing hallucinogenic drugs, one count of possessing 145,000 wraps of LSD, one count of possession, and one of smuggling drugs to the USA.
Judge Anthony Niblett said Hardison had supplied drugs to others "for his own greed".

[Alfa]

First published on Saturday 19 March 2005: The £5 million drugs lab
by Ali Cridland

A chemist has been found guilty of setting up one the most sophisticated and complex drugs operations ever uncovered by police in Sussex.
Casey Hardison produced an array of mind-altering drugs with a potential street value of £5 million.
He set up a home-made laboratory in the back bedroom of his rented bungalow in a sleepy Sussex village.
Hardison, 33, who believes hallucinogenic drugs should be legal, revealed during his trial at Lewes Crown Court that he earned £125,000 from his illegal experiments.
But he refused to plead guilty, telling the court taking psychoactive drugs was an innocent act and the only crime he had committed was against the state.
Hardison, an American citizen, argued the law was wrong and urged the jury to acquit him.
But after considering their verdict for five hours, they convicted him of making three class A drugs - 2CB, DMT and LSD.
He was also found guilty of possessing 145,000 doses of LSD with a street value of up to £1 million, having another class A drug, 5-Meo-DMT, and smuggling Ecstasy worth £4,000 to the USA. He was acquitted of making 2CI and mescaline Judge Anthony Niblett told Hardison, who faces a long prison term, he would be sentenced on April 15. He said: "You are a highly intelligent, articulate and talented man. Tragically you have used those talents for illegal purposes. You have strong personal beliefs that hallucinogenic drugs which alter the human mind are not harmful. The public and governments of civilised modern democracies take a different view."

During the ten-week trial, the court heard police and scientists wearing protective suits and breathing apparatus, because of the danger of contamination by hallucinogenic substances, searched Hardison's home in The Vale at Ovingdean, near Brighton.

When they entered the detached bungalow in February last year, they discovered a tatty and untidy laboratory in a rear bedroom capable of making class A drugs with a street value of more than £5 million.

Detectives believe the elaborate lab could have made illegal drugs potentially worth up to £32 million in the two years before Hardison was arrested.
Experts described the lab as unique as it was being used for the production of so many class A drugs, including the rare 2CI and 2CB.

Richard Barton, prosecuting, told the jury Hardison was a committed advocate of the widespread use of illicit drugs. He said: "He came here in order to set up and run illegal laboratories manufacturing class A drugs, and to put his beliefs about these drugs being readily available and widely distributed into effect in this country."

Hardison set up the Atha Research Foundation, which claimed to be an organisation researching into neuro-chemistry, and called himself a doctor.
But the prosecution said the foundation gave a veneer of respectability while being a front for the manufacture and distribution of class A drugs. Hardison had lived in the house, called Montecillo, for only four months when police moved in.
He was tracked down after he posted to the US a package containing four bags of Ecstasy hidden between the pages of a magazine. It was opened during a routine check by customs.

[Alfa]

Post Falls Man At Center Of International Investigation
A Post Falls man is at the center of a drug investigation that has crossed international boarders.

Casey Hardison is charged with manufacturing and exporting a controlled substance in England. UK authorities and police in North Idaho have been investigating the former University of Idaho student since July 2003 when US Customs intercepted ecstasy being mailed to an address in Post Falls.

Wednesday local police, DEA agents, and US Customs raided two properties in Kootenai County linked to Hardison. They found inactive labs where it appears ecstasy, LSD and other synthetic drugs had been produced.

Hardison has not lived in North Idaho for a couple of years, but when authorities in Sussex County, England recently busted what was determined to be the largest LSD lab in the history of the UK - the Kootenai County Drug Task Force got some much needed information that lead them to the lab in Post Falls.

Hardison has not been charged here in the states. A local US attorney says she will monitor court proceedings in England before filing anything here.

[Alfa]

Drugs wizard gets 20 years
by Ali Cridland

A chemist who set up a sophisticated drugs laboratory to make hallucinogenic drugs worth up to #5 million has
been jailed for 20 years. Hardison, 33, showed no emotion as he was sentenced at Hove Crown Court by Judge Anthony Niblett.

But as he was led from the dock to the cells to begin his long sentence, he shouted to the judge: "You would
think I was a terrorist. Thanks for your love and compassion."

Hardison received one of the longest sentences ever passed for drugs offences in Sussex.

Judge Niblett told Hardison, a 33-year-old American, he was recommending he is deported to the United States
when he is released from jail in Britain because his presence in this country is detrimental.

Hardison, who believes hallucinogenic drugs should be legal, was convicted by a jury last month after a
ten-week trial at Lewes Crown Court.

The court heard Hardison's drugs factory in the back bedroom of a rented bungalow at Ovingdean, near
Brighton, was one of the most sophisticated and complex illegal labs found in the country in the past 25 years.

Scientists believed it was unique as Hardison was producing so many different mind-altering drugs.

He had made drugs with a potential street value of #5 million, including LSD and other less well-known
psychoactive compounds which are rare on the drugs market.

Judge Niblett described Hardison, who sees himself as a martyr in the war against drugs, as a dangerous
individual.

He said Hardison was a highly intelligent, articulate and talented man who has tragically used his abilities
for illegal purposes.

He said: "You are a US citizen who came to this country to exploit the market for class A drugs. This was
production on an industrial scale. You deliberately flouted the laws of this country.

"You have no regret for what you did and you have expressed every intention of pursuing your misguided
beliefs in the future." The judge said he had no doubt <B style="COLOR: black; : #a0ffff">Hardison's[/b] motivation
was for personal gain. He said: "You realised the potential profit was huge, running possibly to millions
of pounds. I am quite satisfied that was your goal."

Rudi Fortson, defending, denied Hardison had been making the drugs purely for greed.

He said the self-taught chemist had started to experiment because of his desire to learn more about
the drugs.

He said: "His actions were not motivated by greed. He didn't do it to buy a villa in Spain but in order to
acquire further experience to continue to push forward the frontiers of knowledge."

During the trial the court heard how Hardison, known as OB1 by his friends after the wise Jedi in the Star Wars
films, had set up his first illegal lab in the UK at the home he rented in Wiston, near Steyning.

In the autumn of 2003, he moved to the bungalow in The Vale, Ovingdean, where he continued to make drugs.

But in July 2003 he sent two packages to the US containing Ecstasy which were opening during a routine
customs check. Drugs worth #4,000 were found between the pages of a copy of the satirical magazine Private
Eye.

Hardison's fingerprints were found on the package and a major police investigation was launched on both sides
of the Atlantic.

Hardison[/b] was convicted of six charges, including making three class A drugs, LSD, 2CB and DMT, possessing with
intent to supply 145,000 doses of LSD with a street value of up to #1 million and smuggling Ecstasy worth
#4,000 from the UK to the USA.

Hardison's solicitor Jeff Schone said the chemist was considering appealing against the conviction.

Police are taking proceedings to confiscate any profits made by Hardison. During the trial he admitted paying
#2,000 deposit for a piece of land on the coast of Dorset and considered buying land in Mexico and Spain.

He also sent cash to his father Bob in the USA to buy a 34ft yacht called Atha Windwalker.

[Alfa]

How long do you have to serve for a 20 year sentence in the UK?

[600538411]

Too long

[Pinkavvy]

ouch.... *sigh*

they keep nabbing the lsd cooks. in the last 12 years, all the big chemists that produce lsd have gone down.

Don't worry, I heard from someone that there's 2 cooks in north america actively making LSD.

[MegaLab420]

more than 2


The jazz is around, and will be more frequent over the summer.

[Eirias]

LSD is due for a comeback, unfortunately it takes a certain high-caliber of clandestine chemist to synth such a compound.

This is a shame--

I feel for the young chemist, and I respect his bravery in the face of the
courts. It takes some serious guts to tell a judge what you
really think about drug policy, especially when you're staring down the
barrel of a 20-year sentence.

Unless there are some bullshit "mandatory minimums" for drug
sentences in the UK, I would imagine that as a non-violent offender and
a first time arrestee (this was his first arrest, right?), that he will
serve 50-75% of the time, and then get some kind of parole. This
is just my guess, he could serve more or less-- I dunno how the British
system works.

The US pressured the rest of the UN member nations to adopt some
form of their Controlled Substances Act in 1971. It is not the
"opinion of civilized democracies" that hallucinogens are
dangerous. It's the result of US-pushed political propaganda.

In the future, I believe that history will absolve these
"prisoners of consciousness". What he did was a courageous and
brave act, that not just anyone could pull off. Of course the
press has to talk about the grossly-exaggerated "street value" of the
drugs involved, and make statements like this person was synthing
psychedelics "for his own greed".

We can't forget Casey Hardison, nor Nick Sand, nor William
Pickard. These folks are the Galileos and Van Gogh's of the
entheogenic movement-- persecuted by the ignorant p[owers that be in their own time, yet
eventually recognized for their greatness once society comes to terms
with such things.

[wann]

I found this quote quite sickening to say the least:



"You have no regret for what you did and you have expressed every intention of pursuing your misguided beliefs</span> in the future."



It just shows once again what kind of people get big responsibilities like being a damn judge.



It also represents the general opinion of important government
officials of a lot of countries. They're not just concerned that
hallucinogenics could be physically and psychologically harmful, but
even more so that they could provide people with clearer thinking,
better insight to the world and themselves and overall a better quality
of life, to mention just a few of the benefits of hallucinogenics.</span>

[unico_walker]

This guy has every ounce of my respect, the position he took standing
up for his beliefs with what he was facing took conviction, balls of
brass, and a fatalistic drive to accept what may come.



His mistake was he got too confident on distribution, he should have left that to others without the talent and skill he had.

[MegaLab420]

If you ever in your life find yourself fortunate enough to complete this task, move far far away. Infact, get what you need to make as much as want, and go find yourself in the middle of the desert away from everyone and anyone.


(the desert isn't really ideal, but you get the idea)


If you can synthesise LSD and DMT, disappear. Make what you need to make, and call it quits. DO NOT SELL till it is all made and all the chemicals are all used up and the glass is broke in millions of pieces. Too many people fuck up on this one. They make while they sell and it always ends up in the headlines.


I feel for everyone who slips up, even thought "they shoulda done this" or "they shoulda done that" differently. They are still people, and everyone makes bad choices through out life. Our responsibility is to learn from their mistakes, and to do our best to find the good in a bad situation. This is often hard, but there are lessons to be learned from these peoples mistakes.


Sure you need to make a little money to make a lot of money. This is the risky part you need to be careful with. Once you have what you need to make ALOT of money, DISAPPEAR!!!! And don't come back until you are clear and free of all glass and chems!!


In every country in the world, there has to be a place where you can find solice.A little place you can call home for a few months while you pound out your favorite product. Find that place, and leave no trail behind.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	great post!!
	very good advice for aspiring drug chemists..

[sands of time]

Damn, what a shame. Are the methods passed down to new chemists so that this stuff doesn't just go away?

[Muirner]

There has to be a synth that is passed along between cooks, or something that is in a book that will tell how the synth goes. As it said he had several books telling him how to make it. And i'm sure he has seen it doen before, because making LSD, DMT and such is not a street level cook you know? I assume if you are going to start synth'in LSD and such you have a pretty good knowledge of chemicals. This is backed up by the guy having E35k worth of chemicals.


Eirias- As for it being a non-violent crime, i dont think that this would be classified in the US as a non-violent crime. Just because possession of halusiniginc (sp) mushrooms in the US can be charged with Attempt to Overthrow the Government. This is a felony punishable by life. While he wasnt out hurting anyone he was altering mind states which could cause a person to kill themselves. This is no longer in the non-violent category. I only say this because i had the same thing happen to me. I was only caught with 20g's of mushies and they wanted me to suffer. But my lawyer got me a deal cut


Muirner

[Nadia Snow]

he knew the consequences but he didnt think it would happen to him


i dont agree with the penalty at all. he needs a lighter sentence if possible. hes only making hallucinagens for godsakes not heroin. sorry about the steriotype but for godsakes they (hallucinogens)have the lowest abuse potential possible & are used for fucking spiritual experiences (well mostly, thats the outcome...errr nevermind)

[anj0vis]

My respect to Hardison too, now I understand why UK seemed to have lots of lsd all the time.. I agree that if/when psychedelics are one day no longer so demonized hobby, these cooks leave their mark in the history books as martyrs.