The Chemical is Political
This will be a thread discussing the effects of Chemistry on society. It should focus on the effects of medications, drugs both legal and illegal, toxins and the multitudinous exogenous compounds that exhibit or potentially exhibit psychoactive or pharmacological activity. Other focuses include: the History of Chemistry as it relates to Alchemy, pediatric psychiatry, general chemistry, the petrochemical industry, the international drug trade, "Emergency Chemistry" and other subjects that will likely evolve organically. There will also be a fair amount of discussion regarding pharmacology.
If you do not know much about chemistry, I ask that you lurk for a long time before you post. Do not be ashamed when you don't know something. This is very complicated topic that takes many years of rigorous study to fully comprehend; and we're discovering new things constantly. Fruitful participation in this discussion will require chemistry and pharmacology knowledge. If you have some rudimentary chemistry knowledge making yourself familiar with IUPAC nomenclature is strongly advised.
While discussion of molecular synthesis is allowed, don't be a fucking idiot. Discussion of sourcing for chemicals and reagents is strictly forbidden. Before an individual attempts to synthesize any molecule, be aware of the laws in your locality. In certain areas just possession of ground glassware is a FELONY (you can thank shitty kitchen crank "chemists" for this predicament) and agencies like the DEA will be on your ass. Doesn't matter if all you were doing was making Aspirin (quite simple) they will fuck you and charge you as a clandestine chemist and prison sentences for clandestine manufacture are not short.
Amature chemistry is incredibly rewarding, and as you gain more knowledge there's nothing amature about it. If you follow through on learning the subject, you will be able to make everything from psychiatric medication and soap to gasoline additives to antivirals, antibacterials and pyrotechnics. The only things you need are the right combinations of carbon (and some heteroatoms), energy, time and a controlled environment aka your laboratory.
Also, when discussing a particular molecule, always include it's structural diagram in addition to its name. Chemists don't really actually even use the long and complicated names the chemicals have in common parlance, it's far to cumbersome. Think about it like this, the IUPAC name for a molecule is actually a set of encoded instructions explaining it's orientation in space in addition to its atomic and molecular composition. Very useful for drawing to the molecule, not so much for identification per se.
An example of this is Vitamin B12. I don't know it's chemical name, and don't really care to, but I do need to see a diagram of its structure. Check it out here:
wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12
Now with all that out of the way, let's talk.
Impress me, name some of the molecules you can use google.
(cont)