DEA puts old couple out of water purification business

[Jumping Frog]

Another "win" in the "War on Drugs"?

Federal agents say 88-year-old Saratoga man's invention is being used by meth labs

This 88 year-old man and his girlfriend have been selling a water purification kit for backpackers for 30 years.

Wallace and his partner, Marjorie Ottenberg, came up with the idea about 30 years ago as they planned to scale the Popocatépetl volcano in Mexico.

Hoping to avoid Montezuma's revenge, Ottenberg, a chemist by trade, read an article in Backpacker magazine about two doctors who had been infected with Giardia and recommended treating water with crystalline iodine.

"We knew the water was questionable down there, so we stole their idea," Wallace said with an unapologetic grin.

So in 1983, the couple began selling their brown bottles with a small sprinkling of iodine crystals -- about a quarter of an ounce -- in the bottom.

Polar Pure was an instant, if modest, hit among backpackers and world travelers. It was effective, light and never expired, unlike many other products. One bottle can disinfect about 2,000 quarts of water.

But now he has run afoul of the ever-increasing reach of the federal government.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and state regulators say druggies can use the single ingredient in his "Polar Pure" water purifier -- iodine -- to make crystal meth.

Wallace says federal and state agents have effectively put him out of business, because authorities won't clear the way for him to buy or sell the iodine he needs for his purification bottles. He has been rejected for a state permit by the Department of Justice and is scheduled to appeal his case before an administrative judge in Sacramento next month.

Meanwhile, the exasperated Stanford University-educated engineer and his 85-year-old girlfriend said the government -- in its zeal to clamp down on meth labs -- has instead stopped hikers, flood victims and others from protecting themselves against a bad case of the runs.

This is not the same country I grew up in.

[The Annoyed Man]

Another example of bureaucracy out of control. Ford Econoline vans can be used to make mobile meth labs. What are they going to do....outlaw Econoline vans? Kitchen matches can be used to light the burners that you cook the meth with. Are they going to outlaw kitchen matches? This is just dumber than a bag of hammers.

[olafpfj]

There is too much money and too many careers dedicated to the drug war. They have to keep finding new and creative ways to keep the failed war going.

go for low hanging fruit...the Zeta's shoot back

[puma guy]

TAM got it right make criminals out of as many ordinary citizens as you can since you can't control the real ones. I had to show ID to buy Tilex cleaner at WalMart. Clerk said it can be used to make drugs Funny thing is showing an ID won't prevent misuse...................OH! I forgot that's not the point is it.

[olafpfj]

TAM got it right make criminals out of as many ordinary citizens as you can since you can't control the real ones. I had to show ID to buy Tilex cleaner at WalMart. Clerk said it can be used to make drugs Funny thing is showing an ID won't prevent misuse...................OH! I forgot that's not the point is it.

There used to be an ex DEA agent who would give a yearly lecture at a theatre I used to run. I asked him why he was for legalization and why he resigned. He responded that after 20+ years in the DEA in Houston they had failed to accomplish anything towards ending the drug trade. On top of that he said that the war on drugs had become a blanket pretext to violate anyones civil rights. If they wanted to harass you, look into your computer, search your house and car or generally any reason they wanted to investigate you, whether drug related or not, they would simply make some vague drug related accusation and receive all the warrants they needed. He claimed that his office had stacks of blank signed warrants that they could use with impunity and did. He said he resigned because he couldn't be a part of it anymore, ruining innoncent peoples lives and destroying people over trivial drug offences. He now advocates legalization, not because he advocates drug use, but because the policy and practice of the drug war is far worse than the drug use itself.

[Jeff Barriault]

I had an idea for an H2O purification product myself, but never did anything with it because of the potential regulatory nightmare.

As you know, a few drops of chlorine bleach does a good job of purifying water. The problem with it, however, is its relatively short shelf life of around 3 months.

Granulated chlorine, the same stuff municipalities use to treat your drinking water, has an unlimited shelf life. This is the same stuff used to chlorinate pools. The downside is that even one or two tiny grains of the stuff is too much to purify a typical one liter drinking bottle. It is just too potent.

My idea is to put a small amount of powder into a dropper bottle. Then when you are ready to use it simply fill the dropper bottle with water, shake it up, and then use a drop or two of the concentrated solution in the water bottle you want to purify. It'll have a shelf life of a few months once mixed, but have an unlimited shelf life up until the point you need it.

Anyway, if you're brave enough to productize the idea yourself, go for it. I'll be your first customer. Good luck with all the regulatory crap though.

[Thomas]

Jeff, unlike Polar Pure, you have to carry multiple bottles for your idea, and they're trash once used. Polar Pure is popular with backpackers because only one bottle is needed, and they can just refill the one bottle to make it usable again. However, if you found some other way to dispense the powder in a measured fashion, you might be on to something. Novice survivalists are bound to buy almost anything, but if you want to compete with backpackers, you'll have to be better or different than these products: http://www.rei.com/category/4500460

[Dragonfighter]

Back to the DEA argument, why go after a guy making a product for backpackers. They (meth cookers) could just as easily concentrate iodine sold for wound care at CVS. I've got one of those bottles laying around somewhere...sheesh.

[Mike1951]

Back to the DEA argument, why go after a guy making a product for backpackers. They (meth cookers) could just as easily concentrate iodine sold for wound care at CVS. I've got one of those bottles laying around somewhere...sheesh.

Many stores, my Walmart, for instance, have stopped selling iodine. They now sell a clear substitute, but I have no idea what it is. I assume it is as worthless as the clear 'mercurochrome' that you can buy online.

My local grocery store still has regular iodine.