User:Sambc/Casey William Hardison

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Casey William Hardison (b. 1971) is an American chemist and a self-described medical anthropologist who was convicted in the United Kingdom in 2005 of six offences of the Misuse Drugs Act of 1971: three of production, two of possession, and one of exportation.[1][2] He is seen as something of an exemplar for the entheogenic movement.[3]


Contents

[edit] Background and beliefs

Hardison is committed to the idea of mental freedom, or Cognitive Liberty, including the use of psychoactive substances for mind-expansion and psychological healing (entheogenics).[3]

[edit] Activism and research

Hardison has been involved in research and activism, as recorded and reported by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, an organisation which itself conducts FDA-approved trials and studies.[4] He has also taken a leading role in workshops on entheogenic drug use.[5]


[edit] Illegal Activities

Hardison was engaged in the manufacture of several illegal psychotropics since moving to Brighton in 2003.[6] He had set up a laboratory in his back bedroom, and using £38,386 worth of chemical ingredients produced "hallucinogenic tablets with a value of up to £5m".[7] It was alleged later in court that he had come to the UK in order to conduct these activities because the US has become 'too hot', and that he was seeking to make money.[1]

[edit] Arrest

In July 2003, Hardison mailed two parcels containing MDMA, also known as ecstasy, a chemical compound that is undergoing clinical trials for use in the treatment of post traumatic stress syndrome, to the United States. Reports indicate that the drugs were hidden between pages of the magazine Private Eye. Most reports indicate that the packages were opened in a routine inspection.[6][7] Following this, the British authorities elected to monitor Hardison until he was arrested in February 2004, at the Sanctuary Cafe in Hove, near Brighton.[7]

[edit] In the courts

The case represented a successful cooperation between multiple agencies from both the United States and the United Kingdom, leading to a complex court case for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).[7] This was made more unusual by Hardison's decision to represent himself in court and argue based on human rights that "taking psychoactive drugs was an innocent act and the only crime he had committed was against the state". These issues combined to lead to the case being one of only three highlighted in the annual report of Sussex CPS.[2]

[edit] Conviction

Hardison has been sentenced to twenty years imprisonment in the UK for producing a variety of psychotropics, purported to be entheogenic drugs (specifically LSD, 2CB and DMT).[6][2] It was further held that he had come to the UK to take advantage of a softer attitude to drugs, and had engaged in his manufacturing and supply activities intending to make financial gain. He was said to have boasted that kids in the UK were hooked on a drug known as '2CI', which he was in the UK to produce. He is believed to have sent some of the profits of his drug manufacturing activities home to his father, who used it to buy a yacht.[1]


[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c DIY chemist jailed for 20 years. BBC (2005-04-22). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  2. ^ a b c "R v Casey Hardison" (PDF) (2005). CPS Sussex Annual Report 2004-2005: p. 6. 
  3. ^ a b Erowid Casey William Hardison Vault. Erowid (2007-08-02). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  4. ^ Hardison, Casey (Summer 2000). "An Amateur Qualitative Study of 48 2C-T-7 Subjective Bioassays". Bulletin of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) 10 (2): p. 11. 
  5. ^ Shulgin, Dr Alexander (2001-06-28). 2C-T-7. Ask Dr Shulgin. Centre for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics (COLE). Retrieved on 2007-08-12. “"This was a survey conducted by Casey Hardison with users who attended an ethnopharmacologic workshop in Southern Mexico…"”
  6. ^ a b c Cridland, Ali. "Drugs wizard gets 20 years", Brighton Argus, 2005-01-21, p. 1. 
  7. ^ a b c d DIY chemist guilty of making drug. BBC (2005-03-18). Retrieved on 2007-08-12.

[[Category:1971 births|Hardison, Casey]] [[Category:Living people|Hardison, Casey]] [[Category:American chemists|Hardison, Casey]]