After being questioned by the ATF several years ago, and having them answer some of my questions as well, it seems that unless substances are part of
an "explosive device". it's not illegal just to make them or have them. Selling them, of course, is a different story, but for the purposes of US
law, it's devices that are regulated, not the explosives in them. The two exceptions to this rule, though, are acetone peroxide and HMTD peroxide.
The ATF had no problem with my homemade ETN, and I even admitted to nitroglycerin synthesis, which didn't seem to be a concern. They did ask me about
these two peroxide compounds though, and they seemed satisfied when I said that I'd never synthesized them because of their known instability.
I'm not sure if this is common knowledge here or not, but since I actually have direct experience being questioned by the ATF for being suspected of
bomb making, I figured I should forward this information to you guys.ELRIC - 19-9-2017 at 08:10
How long ago was it that you were informed of this?Melgar - 19-9-2017 at 08:39
How long ago was it that you were informed of this?
It would have been spring or summer of 2013,
edit: You can also be charged with other crimes, that possession of explosives can be used as evidence for, but they have to prove intent for those.
They actually try very hard to get intent correct, so if you don't intend to commit a crime, you probably have little to worry about.
Also, this is federal law, and there are also fifty different sets of state laws, but I'm not aware of any states that have gone out of their way to
make possession of these chemicals illegal.
For large quantities, there could be "improper storage of a hazardous material" charges, but that's only if you're actually storing it in a way that's
dangerous. This is a common charge that chemists with scary-looking, messy, disorganized labs with unlabeled bottles get hit with, once they've
determined that meth was not being made there.
[Edited on 9/19/17 by Melgar]Bert - 19-9-2017 at 09:48
If you make anything that is explosive (BATFE has a LIST of what compounds/mixtures they consider to be explosive, LOOK HERE: 2016 explosives list), you need to either use it immediately, without storing- Not even overnight, not even for a couple of hours while you're not
attending it. Or you must store it appropriately, which entails a proper magazine, record keeping, and a LICENSE.
If an agent lets you slide on any of the requirements because you don't seem to be a bad person/terrorist/fucking idiot, it is gravy. Do not count on
it.
And read the orange book BEFORE it matters.
Attachment: atf-p-5400-7.pdf (4.2MB) This file has been downloaded 551 times
