Notice: Amendment to forum guidelines pertaining to drug discussion

Recently, I proposed an amendment to the forum guidelines to make our drug discussion enforcement policies explicitly clear. It was agreed on by the other active forum staff members and approved by Polverone to add to the guidelines. You can find the forum guidelines here, but here is a copy of the new amendment for convenience of discussion:



Quote:

August 2023 Amendment: Specific guidelines pertaining to discussion of psychoactive substances Posts must adhere strictly to the other forum guidelines. Spoonfeeding requests (i.e. asking for a "recipe," or asking vague, low-effort questions) are not tolerated. Discussion must remain focused on theoretical or practical synthetic methods, analytical methods (e.g. for harm reduction purposes), or the theoretical biochemistry/pharmacology of a substance. Discussions of ingesting psychoactive substances are not permitted. Reported syntheses must be carried out on a small scale and be clearly motivated by intellectual interest, not commercial aspirations or a desire to ingest the resulting substance (with the possible exception of alcohol production or cannabis extraction in jurisdictions where those practices are legal). Discussions of synthesizing common, synthetically uninteresting drugs such as methamphetapine, MDMA, GHB, etc. are not permitted. There is already a plethora of information about these substances on the internet, and there is no reason to discuss them on this site. Exceptions may be made at moderator's discretion for theoretical discussions of unique synthetic approaches that have some intellectual merit. Psychoactive substances are not advisable targets for the beginner amateur chemist. Thus, forum staff may close a thread, even if it meets the above criteria, if it appears that the poster lacks the experience and/or background knowledge required to responsibly conduct the experiments being discussed.

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