Former Georgetown student Charles Smith and former University of Richmond student John Perrone were convicted Friday for attempted and unlawful manufacture of the controlled substance Dimethyltryptamine, a D.C. code violation. They will be placed on probation for three years.
Smith and Perrone were arrested on Oct. 23 on suspicion of producing one gram of DMT in Smith's Harbin dorm room, enough for roughly 10 doses, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Perrone had printed instructions off the Internet and purchased the materials necessary to produce DMT, including ammonia, acetone and paint thinner. Smith had agreed to pay for half of the materials, he said at Friday's hearing at the U.S. District Court. The DMT was produced for personal use, not for sale and distribution.
"It was for personal use," Perrone said. "I might have shared it with others, but that was not the plan. The plan was not to manufacture a bunch and sell it."
Smith and Perrone decided to make DMT, as opposed to other drugs, because of the relative ease and low risk of producing it. It does not carry the same risk of explosion as methamphetamine, for example.
"The process itself is simple and less dangerous than many other things," Smith said at the hearing.
Smith and Perrone used ammonia, acetone and paint thinner to extract the drug from a Mimosa root-bark. They then sealed the DMT in six mason jars, which they placed in a Styrofoam cooler filled with dry ice to allow the drug to crystallize, according to Perrone.
The Georgetown Department of Public Safety arrived while the DMT was in the process of crystallizing and immediately took Smith and Perrone into custody.
"I have never consumed DMT in my life. Didn't get that far," Perrone said.
At a hearing at the U.S. District Court on Oct. 28 following the arrest, Smith and Perrone were released to the custody of their parents in Andover, Mass. Their next court date was set for Jan. 24. That hearing was cancelled, however, as their lawyers and the prosecution reached a plea agreement.
On Friday, the two sides passed a joint, non-binding sentence recommendation for the defendants of six months in prison, with an execution of sentence suspended probation of three years after the defendants pled guilty.
With an ESS probation, the defendants will not serve their sentence in jail but will be put on probation for three years.
If they complete probation without any violations, the conviction will be expunged from their record; the arrest will remain, however. Violation of the terms of probation could result in them serving their original prison sentence. Pending input from the Probation Office, the sentence will be finalized with potential modifications within three weeks.
Until then, Smith and Perrone will continue living with their parents on release at their Massachusetts homes. Neither is currently enrolled in a university.

producing one gram of DMT in Smith's Harbin dorm room,

On Friday, the two sides passed a joint

On the light side though, this made me smile:

Smith and Perrone decided to make DMT, as opposed to other drugs, because of the relative ease and low risk of producing it. It does not carry the same risk of explosion as methamphetamine, for example.

I'm glad they only got probation.



I'm sure they were having a conversation

"Hey bro, should we cook meth or extract DMT?"
"Well bro, DMT is realtively easy and there is less risk. It doesn't carry the same risk of explosion as methamphetamine."
"Yeah you are right. We will just extract DMT this time"

Soulshine,
I did the exact same thing!!!

I wonder how it exactly came to the attention of the authorities, while it is extremely stupid to manufacture DMT in a dorm room, perhaps that wasn't the whole reason to why they got caught. I don't want to sound too paranoid, but perhaps the authorities were monitoring their online purchasing habits. Does anyone have more information on this?

I wonder how it exactly came to the attention of the authorities, while it is extremely stupid to manufacture DMT in a dorm room, perhaps that wasn't the whole reason to why they got caught. I don't want to sound too paranoid, but perhaps the authorities were monitoring their online purchasing habits. Does anyone have more information on this?