Please bare with me, as this is long and somewhat complicated. Maybe someone else has the same or similar issues, and can offer some helpful tips or encouragement? These issues have made me become a hermit, and I have zero social life outside of my household.
I am 47 female, postmenopausal, and I have had hyperhidrosis for 20+ years, and it's the worst on my face and head. Last year I was prescribed glycopyrrolate. The warning I got from my rheumatologist was that it MAY make my secondary Sjogren's symptoms worse. So I tried it, for half a week. My eyes and mouth were SO dry that they hurt, and I didn't notice a major reduction in the sweating, so I didn't take anymore. I've lost several teeth in the last 5 years due to dry mouth (not bad hygiene) and nothing has helped that either (gels, lozenges, gum, etc). I'm a mouth breather (asthmatic, allergies, polyps, deviated septum, etc), so that makes it all worse. Despite the dry eyes being like 2 sides of Velcro, they're super sensitive and water constantly for days on end. I am constantly blotting the sweat and tears, which leaves my skin red, dry and chapped (sometimes cracked) around my mouth, eyes and a bit of my forehead. I've tried switching from Kleenex to cotton bandanas, flannel and bamboo cloths, which helps, but hard to keep up on laundry with my body constantly leaking! Anyway...
Summer is coming up and I want to be outside more and be more active, but I worry about the sweating, heatrash and sunburn. I have very fair, translucent skin, with some sensitivity, dryness and a history (age 0 to 30) of the worst eczema you could image... picture a child whose skin looked like raw hamburger from head to toe, and suffering through tar baths, sun treatments, mummy wraps, and steroids. All of it ruined my skin. I have zero acne, never get pimples or blackheads, and have no oiliness to be seen... just random flaky dry skin patches and buckets of sweat. I am wanting to find a sunscreen that absorbs nicely into my tiny pores and doesn't mattify or dry me out. I also want to try facial antiperspirants. In what order would I do my skincare routine? I normally wash my face with gentle cleansing wipes, tone with Simple toner, apply serums (The Ordinary's The Buffet and Amino Acids + B5) and then moisturize with The Ordinary's moisturizer, Naturium Plant Ceramides, or Purlisse Blue Lotus. I have given up on makeup, unless it's a bit of mascara. I just don't care anymore as it's not worth the hassle of watery eyes, sweating it off and it just disappearing from my nose. I cannot use any type of mattifying products or powders because they dry me out worse.
I have tried 2 chemical facial sunscreens in the last 6 weeks, which made my face hot and red, and left me with a flaky patch of skin between my eyebrows that I cannot get rid of (I've been putting raw African shea butter on it for 3 days straight). It was the Trader Joe's Daily Facial Sunscreen that did it first, after 4 hours of wearing it. I used it only once and gave it to my daughter. 2 weeks later I tried Kao Bioré Aqua Rich Watery Essence (Japan) sunscreen, and it seemed to reactivate the dry patch! Both absorbed or dried quickly, and my skin felt silky dry and smooth, but... then it started snowing down on my glasses. I think the common ingredient would be alcohol, or some mattifying thing. I've since ordered 5 "Holy Grail" sunscreens from Korea and Japan to see if they are better. The mineral sunscreens just seem to sit on top of my skin, make me sweat worse, and then I'm icky sticky and streaky! I've been doing research and reading reviews, taking product matching quizzes for several weeks, and am very frustrated. I won't have the new sunscreens for several weeks to try out, but they are Purito Daily Go To, Beauty of Joseon, Round Lab Birch, Canmake Mermaid and Rohto Skin Aqua Super Moisture. I wanted to try Supergoop, Heliocare 360 Fluid Cream, and LaRoche-Posay Anthelios Milk Melt-In, but they are expensive and review are all over the place, especially for dry or sensitive skin... God forbid I have both! cry
So, any recommendations for 1. A facial deodorant that doesn't have a matte finish or is actually moisturizing? And 2. A facial sunscreen that works on dry, sweaty and sometimes sensitive skin? And 3. Which order would one do their routine?
I should also note that my hyperhidrosis is SO bad that I have chronic intertrigo and frequent yeast infections in my skin folds. I've used nystatin powder for years, never with any luck. The cream version made me sweatier. Cornstarch, baking soda, gauze taped in place, etc. I've tried cotton and bamboo bra liners, which do help. I got a breast reduction 10 years ago, and that didn't help at all... I think I'd need a mastectomy to not have that issue there. I have changed out all of my clothing and bedding to strictly natural fibers, and that has helped some, but not sure how it will help in the summer. Cotton seems to just soak up the sweat and get soggy and gross. I like modal, bamboo and silk, but $$$! Add to all of the above that I have fibromyalgia, so everything remotely snug on my body or skin causes pain and leaves red marks, dents and sometimes bruises... plus rashes in those sensitive areas. I've been wearing modal boxer briefs in a size 3 times bigger than I would wear, just so they don't hurt. It leaves extra material to tuck into the folds to stop the skin sticking, some sweat and rashes... but as soon as I move, the material falls back to its normal position, so not helpful when out and about, and when I need it the most. When we go out to eat, and the seats are vinyl, I have to wipe it with a napkin as I leave the booth... and it looks like I peed my pants! I wish they made the bra liner type things for the apron area and groin! Maybe they do, and I just have searched using the wrong terms.
The TL;DR version: Looking for recos for cranio-facial hyperhidrosis topical products, specifically 1. sunscreen and 2. antiperspirants. I have dry skin and barely any skin oil (my fingers don't leave prints even on my phone, unless I've recently moisturized), so I don't need matte products. My skin CAN be sensitive, but I couldn't tell you what all it's sensitive to, except alcohol. Glycopyrrolate may work (I have it) but it also made my extremely dry eyes and mouth worse. Also, if anyone knows of a way to keep other areas of the body dry (skin & fat folds), that'd be great info too. I'm considering spray antiperspirants for my problem areas, but not sure if that would work or be safe. I don't care if my shins or tops of my feet or arms sweat, but the face and where I sit have to be addressed... it's so embarrassing! My skin issues are 1. Hyperhidrosis, 2. Dry eczema prone facial skin, 3. Sensitive skin, 3. Intertrigo. In addition to the skin stuff, I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, fibro, asthma, allergies, IBD, gerd, secondary Sjogren's and whatever else I'm forgetting. I take a dozen medications each day, but that's less than half the meds I was taking over a year ago!
Basically, if I can gain more confidence, get outside and be more active without being drenched immediately, I can move more, lose weight, and at least the sweaty areas would be smaller? I sweat if I move or squat or bend, yet the house is kept at 60° in the winter, and 68° in the summer. I can't do chores, so I have a homemaker. If there's no sunscreen that will work on my face, I'll just get a wide brimmed hat with a UPF rating or tight fabric. I did buy 2 oversized Columbia long sleeve fishing shirts to wear when outdoors this spring and summer, but they are nylon and polyester, so I worry about sweating and being miserable in them. I live in northern Minnesota, so summers can be mild, but this year is not expected to be. Humidity is a major spring and summer issue, and dryness is the winter issue. The humidity worsens the sweating, blotting worsens the rashes and dryness, and the humidity doesn't help with moisture at all. My skin is actually worse in the summer than winter from all the blotting, wiping and mopping of sweat.
Thank you in advance for any help offered! If I missed any pertinent details, please let me know! I made a similar post weeks ago on a skincare sub, but didn't get any response. Sorry for the lengthiness, but didn't want to miss anything. 😬

Birch details his acquisition of Ritalin (a prescription-only drug) and ya ba (illegal methamphetamine substance)

Our Accure laser targets and destroys bacteria responsible for causing acne in the skin’s pores. The laser emits a specific wavelength of light that is absorbed by and eliminates bacteria. The laser’s thermal energy also stimulates collagen production, promoting skin healing and reducing the appearance of acne scars. The Accure Laser is so unique since it’s the only laser treatment designed to specifically target oil within the sebaceous glands. By focusing on oil reduction, it directly addresses one of the root causes of acne, similar to how Accutane works. Another great feature of the Accure laser is its suitability for all skin types. Whether you have fair or dark skin, you can benefit from this treatment without concern. The technology is adaptable and designed to cater to the diverse needs of a wide range of patients.
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🏠20271 SW Birch St Suite 100 Newport Beach, CA 92660
https://youtu.be/z2cHfxTbJ1o?si=rZFqgmZNy72nCepi

What is it like being old and taking drugs? What is different compared to taking them when younger? Are there any differences at all?
Yes there are. In fact, depending upon the drug in question, quite a few changes come with experience and age; but the most obvious physical manifestation relates to recovery. Recovery is often a much slower process, and is sometimes more challenging. This post explores and expands upon these aspects, with reference to my own exposure.
TRY TO BE FIT
First things first: not only am I old enough to remember The Beatles, but I self-administered 182 different drugs between 2008 and 2023. As many of you know, during this period I wrote The Drug Users Bible.
I was, however, in decent shape, despite the sedentary lifestyle of spending most of the day on my PC writing. During the first 10 years, when not away on an expedition, I went to the local swimming pool every morning for an unimpressive eight lengths, and then engaged various stretches to keep my ageing body supple and strong (lol). When the pool closed due to COVID I had to adjust, walking an hour or two every day instead. I lost weight and became fitter, and I believe that the enhanced fitness helped to sustain my drug-taking lifestyle.
PHYSICAL RECOVERY
To the direct topic in hand though; walking is particularly good for recovery following a heavy session with certain drugs. It aids circulation, helps digestion, promotes better sleep, and produces a whole raft of other related benefits.
For myself, this was especially notable with speed, but it applied to many other drugs too, including mephedrone, methamphetamine and MDMA.
Recovery from a session should ideally be pre-planned (check-out rollsafe.org). Commonly cited recovery aids include:
• General re-hydration
• Drinking orange/fruit juice
• Eating healthy meals, including food/drinks with electrolytes
• Careful use of supplements
• Plenty of rest/relaxation and showers.
Sleep is another: get as much as possible. If it has been a particularly excessive binge I have sometimes used a suitable sleep aid.
Some people suggest a toke of cannabis to ease the discomfort and stimulate appetite. Yes, I have occasionally taken this course, and I usually found it to be helpful (again depending upon the drug I was recovering from).
MENTAL RECOVERY
This is an important one: it helps to be aware that for a few days life can be coloured by the aftermath of the drug experience. Everything can look bleaker than it did previously. A real sense of depression can emerge. In severe cases you might even become distressed and, from time to time, feel like crying. Yes; your entire existence can seem to be absolutely shit.
What can help with this, apart from the practical physical steps above?
Knowing why this is happening (the drug) certainly helps: basically, knowing that it will pass. One trick is to focus upon a point in time 72 or 96 hours ahead: understanding that you will be generally happier at that juncture. You just have to get through those days. This is a mental exercise but it can really help to have a target.
BTW: One thing you don’t do is head back to the same (or a similar) drug.
I would also avoid making any serious life decisions whilst your mood is artificially low. If you are able to, delay anything of this nature until you are fully recovered. Do take this advice seriously.
Finally, if you need emotional or any similar support, don’t hesitate to seek it out. A problem shared isn’t exactly a problem halved, but it does help some people.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF
Generally a young healthy body is likely to recover from physical problems faster than an old healthy body, and this definitely applies to drugs. Fortunately I have found that all the above suggestions apply regardless of age. It just takes longer as you get older, and the aches and pains are more obvious.
If you are ageing, take a little more care of yourself, and prepare for, and factor-in, a harsher aftermath and an extended recuperation period.
I will end on a positive note though, so roll the drums: here comes the good news… drugs don’t stop being fun when you are old
Dominic Milton Trott
.
PS: ALSO REMEMBER TO PRACTICE HARM REDUCTION
For more information on The Drug Users Bible see Amazon, or download a complimentary copy of the PDF version from the following post: https://www.reddit.com/harmreduction/comments/14ldqyp/download_the_drug_users_bible_from_here/

Hey guys, I just had some suggestion ideas and hope for some dialogue about it! It's pretty word heavy, but I've tried to add possible explanation or description
Gas mines, except they deploy in a shallow large rectangle. Essentially wider than the circle mine deployment, but more shallow, creating different defense dynamic. Better for large open ground unlike current mines, worse for chokeholds
RapidScatter Orbital Ship Missile (OSM), scatters 3 massive HE OSMs in a 20m circular radius. Essentially better 500KG but much longer cooldown
MG Deployable cover with mg, 4 MGs fold out in 360 from drop pod
GL deployable cover, uni directional only, forward facing only
Incendiary grenade launcher Sentry, 5 round burst
MCLC MANP Launcher, heavy support, can destroy fabs in one shot, takes 2 shots to destroy heavy enemy, works like toned down eagle airstrike, has a 20m long MCLC line, great for destroying Light and Med enemies in a patrol, is disposable like EAT, two drop at a time 1 time use. Shows laser line of where will land
Double Airburst SPEAR. SPEAR-AB, can lock onto any enemy, great for patrols, drops tandem airburst from above, 4 rounds. Make Backpack reloads possible no matter who wears it. Also had direct free fire mode. Adds buddy backpack reload (buddy can reload from users backpack without having to wear it as loader)
Heavy Over under Double barrel or Heavy Tri-barrel EMS grenade launcher, 6 magazines, 12-18 shots total. Reloads from speed clip. Has double explosive size from throwable stunning grenades
Mini-Nuke-Claymore Spiker, heavy weapon. Spikes nuclear claymores into ground at users feat. User gets 3 claymores per strategem? disposable, 1 drops at a time, 120-180s cooldown? Perhaps player gets 2 nuclear single use claymore spikers per drop, like EAT. Equaling 6 claymores
Heavy chain Shotgun strategem, explosive or Incendiary, fullauto, 30-50 round box mags, medium-high recoil, medium penetration, could possibly require Backpack to hold spare reload box mags
Laser or plasma mini gun backpack. Would have less recoil than powder weapons, large offset open holographic optic that is viewed from a lazy near hipfire aim. Or reticle that goes over divers eye from backpack. Requires backpack for ammunition. Single 500? round backpack, expendable like EAT, makes player stamina and speed act like wearing heavy armor no matter what armor type. Does not further slow heavy armor users. Essentially turns player into mini Mech, except call in time is half, no missiles, and you have movement negation. No call in limit
Gunship Wagonwheel 2 Gunships wagon wheel over area with autocannons for 15s, only 2 call ins per game, gunships chaff and flare entire time. They evac to space popping chaff and flares entire way until breaking orbit. Higher level version of orb laser essentially, but a little different
-"'Eaglet' Drone Wingman" Ship upgrade All Eagle strafe based abilities (Rocket attack and Eagle Gun run) now have one more attack. A drone wingman conducts the mission in tandem with the Eagle pilot, resulting in a back to back attack
Heavy plasma thrower (white blue or white green would be sick), requires backpack, longer range, more damage than regular thrower, stickier, slow reloads require Stationary position. 2 reloads in square tank format, horizontal on backpack
Hellhounds Strategem call-in Orbital pod drops 3 robotic dogs, with shields, which run and jump around the battlefield and harass and kill enemies until they are defeated 1 has a machine gun, 1 has a laser weapon, 1 has a Rocket launcher, possibly flame thrower or plasma thrower. Perhaps they have an invisible zone they do not leave or just run amuck until they find enemies. Essentially a dynamic mobile Sentry, but still vulnerable to heavy firepower, have more health than normal Sentry due to dynamic nature and distraction benefits, but also likely to not live as long in high difficulty missions. They explode upon death caution, helldivers in self destruction radius are liable for self inflicted injuries, and will be reprimanded for malingering by medical officer per returning to assigned vessel
Emergency Healing Drone stragetem, releases 4 drone bots that player can grab from Stationary drop like resupply (not backpack slot, just grab and they hover with or attach to player) when player receives fatal damage, instantly prevents death via emergency nanotechnology and methamphetamine stimulants mix. Player is healed. Each robot only has 1 charge. Robot is only destroyed upon use, players may only hold 1 robot. Player enters drug induced rage, regains full stamina, and takes 50% less damage for the next 10s. Ignores broken limb side affects for 10s. (Limb breaking is still possible, not liable for overuse of broken or shattered limbs causing traumatic life long issues, use of life saving medicine is at discretion of diver).
Or, you literally die, upon receiving fatal damage but are resuscitated by the means above
Or instead of damage reduction, you alternatively could recieve zero fatal damage for the next 10-30s, quite literally you could jump off a cliff, but all of your bones can still break, and any damage that would've been fatal, just turns into a bleed out hemorrhage instead. Ignores broken limb side effects for this time. Stimming again of course cures this bleedout. Overuse of this strategem per mission results in sudden cardiac arrest of helldiver upon final withdrawal from drugs (if used 3 times on single life, possibly even make an achievement if you die that way would honestly be a hilarious gimmick that'd likely not be achieved easily). Could also be a limited strategem per mission. Essentially a "mortal invulnerability" strategem.
"A dose of this stuff could feed an entire school districts children for a year!...not that we would ever do that, that's Socialism, and that's for communists!"

Hi everyone. It's almost time for me to place another order on olive young and wanted to get some recommendations.
I have dry skin, especially in my t zone. I'm very acne prone and have fairly sensitive skin. My main focus is hydration first, well aging second, acne reduction third.
I have a large amount of old acne scars which are still red and very visible on my skin, and I wanted to ask your recommendations for products that have worked for you with getting rid of these old scars. I don't currently use retinol/retinal. I would like to limit the amount of actives in my routine if possible due to how sensitive my skin is.
My current skincare line up is the following:
Dr G pH Cleansing Red Blemish Clear Soothing Foam CosRx AHA/BHA toner (1-2x a week when needed) Anua Heartleaf Toner Numbuzin no.4 Collagen Pudding Kiehls Ultra Facial Overnight Rehydrating Mask (at night) First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer (during the day) Beauty of Joseon Relief Sun Rice + Probiotics Sunscreen
I also spray Tower 28 hypochlorous acid spray during the day and reapply sunscreen with my Roundlab Birch Juice sun stick.
TLDR; need recommendations for reducing visible acne scars without too many harsh actives

Namaste 🙏
Created this sub due to the out cry and intermixing of psychedelic users in a similar trees PH subreddit.
Feel free to post PSG and Trip reports.
This sub is intended for harm reduction
Strictly no open selling so this subreddit doesn't get banned.
This is a safe space for the all the Philippine Psych enjoyers out there.
We discourage posting of harder stimulants and opioids of any kind, e.g Methamphetamine, Pharmaceutical Stimulants and Benzodiazepines, Heroin, Fentanyl etc.
But discussions regarding harm reduction of all kinds are welcome regardless of the class of substance.
We encourage to keep it within the Psychedelic Class of Substances and Therapeutic compounds.

i really wanna turn phenylephrine (PE) into something fun, itself isnt all that terrible its not dopaminergic put its stimulating and help with energy
im thinking maybe oxidize it into some desmethylcathinone type shit or maybe do a birch reduction to remove the beta hydroxy substituent and perhaps that has activity as it would be n-methyl-meta-tyramine which apparently has activity at dopaminergic and adrenergic systems

I'm attempting to do something really dumb (I think) but I'm trying to do it as safely as possible. I'm basically doing a modified birch reduction, this reaction requires pressure to produce the chemical I want. I was curious, could I use a fire extinguisher as a pressure vessel? How high can I let the pressure get in the extinguisher before venting? Has anyone done anything like this before? Please PM me or comment if you have experience in using a fire extinguisher as a pressure vessel, thanks!

Recreational ability to increase energy that has been reported to lift mood and increase sexual desire to such an extent that users are able to engage in sexual activity continuously for several days while binging the drug.... from board games!!
I play board games for tactile components, fun factor, and stress reduction. Basically got into the hobby for my mental health and it has done wonders. But there are certain games that give me a methamphetamine rush that is just so satisfying.
Certain things induce this feeling purely from the tactile components:
• PATCHWORK: The feeling of grabbing the tiles and every time I play, it's just sensory goodness that hits all my g-spots.
• SPLENDOR: this game befuddles me because I don't love it but I keep thinking about it! It has this strange addicting quality to it, maybe it's the weighted chips? Makes me want to get iron clad for other games now...
Some games that have a "gotta catch 'em all" addictive feeling. Set collection games come to mind:
• PATCHWORK: such a fun and unique tile laying game that I don't see recommended enough. The tile laying and collecting of buttons is addictive and gives me a buzz if relaxation. This game with some zen background music is 👌👌👌
Some games that have a "hit me!" blackjack like high. Push your luck games fit this category:
• PATCHWORK: the game that inspired this post. This game is just plain fun! The push your luck element and shopping for tiles (might actually be my fav part, selecting what to buy) are such a delight. I think I would very much enjoy the geekbit upgrade to plastic patches but sadly they are sold out, I'm impatient, and I still can't justify the price bring 2x what I got the game for (woohoo target sale). I did get 3d printed patch capsules from Etsy that I'm very eagerly awaiting!!!
Any games that give you psychosis, breakdown of skeletal muscle, seizures and bleeding in the brain??!

Hey, does anyone here have experience with birch reduction/alkylations? Specifically, those that reduce aryl rings. It can be a really clean, useful reaction, but it is not robust or servicable despite the available literature. Sometimes, with the same reagents and proc., the reaction fails. My PI and a previous grad student (who was the picture of perfectionism and meticulousness, to a fault) failed to uncover this mystery. I've also heard this otherwise very useful reaction is avoided in pharma process chem. Any thoughts? Has anyone experienced something like this with a different reaction?

March 17, 2024.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/oregon-drug-decriminalization-failed/677678/
America’s most radical experiment with drug decriminalization has ended, after more than three years of painful results. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has pledged to sign legislation repealing the principal elements of the ballot initiative known as Measure 110: Possessing hard drugs is again a crime in Oregon, and courts will return to mandating treatment for offenders. Oregonians had supported Measure 110 with 59 percent of the vote in 2020, but three years later, polling showed that 64 percent wanted some or all of it repealed. Although the measure was touted by advocates as a racial-justice policy, support for its repeal was especially strong among African American and Hispanic Oregonians.
The key elements of Measure 110 were the removal of criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of drugs such as methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl, and a sharper focus, instead, on reducing the harm that drugs cause to their users. More than $260 million were allocated to services such as naloxone distribution, employment and housing services, and voluntary treatment. The original campaign for the measure was well funded by multiple backers, most prominently the Drug Policy Alliance, based in New York. Supporters hoped that ending penalties—and reducing the associated stigma of drug use—would bring a range of benefits. Once drugs were decriminalized and destigmatized, the thinking went, those who wanted to continue using would be more willing to access harm-reduction services that helped them use in safer ways. Meanwhile, the many people who wanted to quit using drugs but had been too ashamed or fearful to seek treatment would do so. Advocates foresaw a surge of help-seeking, a reduction in drug-overdose deaths, fewer racial disparities in the health and criminal-justice systems, lower rates of incarceration, and safer neighborhoods for all.
But disappointments stacked up rapidly. Measure 110 failed because its advocates misunderstood addiction, and also because they misunderstood the culture and political history of Oregon. Both of these misunderstandings should be of keen interest to other states and municipalities contending with the fentanyl crisis, and to the federal government. An appreciation of what went wrong can help other places land on a drug policy that is both humane and effective, instead of veering toward one extreme or another.
Measure 110 did not reduce Oregon’s drug problems. The drug-overdose-death rate increased by 43 percent in 2021, its first year of implementation—and then kept rising. The latest CDC data show that in the 12 months ending in September 2023, deaths by overdose grew by 41.6 percent, versus 2.1 percent nationwide. No other state saw a higher rise in deaths. Only one state, Vermont, ranks higher in its rate of illicit drug use.
Neither did decriminalization produce a flood of help-seeking. The replacement for criminal penalties, a $100 ticket for drug possession with the fine waived if the individual called a toll-free number for a health assessment, with the aim of encouraging treatment, failed completely. More than 95 percent of people ignored the ticket, for which—in keeping with the spirit of Measure 110—there was no consequence. The cost of the hotline worked out to about $7,000 per completed phone call, according to The Economist. These realities, as well as associated disorder such as open-air drug markets and a sharp rise in violent crime—while such crime was falling nationally—led Oregonians to rethink their drug policy.

If you are in the position to support my work, I have a patreon, venmo, and a paypal set up. Just three dollars a month makes a huge difference! No pressure though, I will keep posting these pieces publicly no matter what - paywalls suck.
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“Show me your papers” law

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas to enforce its strict state immigration enforcement law in a 6-3 decision yesterday.

Background

The law, known as SB 4, gives state and local authorities the power to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border. Upon being convicted of illegal entry and completing a term of imprisonment, a judge must order “the person to return to the foreign nation from which the person entered or attempted to enter.” Alternatively, a judge may dismiss the charges if the person agrees to return to Mexico voluntarily. The process contains no provisions that ensure due process for migrants or allow them to seek humanitarian protection. It further criminalizes Black, brown, and indigenous people who may be detained—regardless of legal status—for no other reason than the color of their skin.
Civil rights groups sued the state in December, arguing that “S.B. 4 is patently illegal” for “violat[ing] the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution” by usurping the “federal government’s exclusive immigration powers.”

S.B. 4 creates a new state system to regulate immigration that completely bypasses and conflicts with the federal system. It allows state officers to arrest, detain, and remove individuals from the United States and mandates removal for those who are convicted of the new state crimes of illegal entry and reentry—all without any input or involvement whatsoever from federal officials.
S.B. 4 requires state officers to make determinations of federal immigration status and to incarcerate and remove noncitizens pursuant to these determinations, but it does not provide noncitizens with any of the mechanisms or pathways to apply for or receive federal protection from removal. Moreover, the system prohibits state courts from pausing cases to obtain determinations of status from the federal government or abstaining while federal immigration proceedings take place.

The U.S. Department of Justice later also sued Texas, alleging that the state’s “efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations.”
U.S. District Judge David Ezra, a Reagan appointee, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law at the end of last month. “[T]he Supremacy Clause and Supreme Court precedent affirm that states may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government,” Ezra wrote. “The United States will suffer immediate irreparable harm if SB 4 takes effect,” he continued, through frustrating Department of Homeland Security priorities, disrupting foreign relations, and preventing the nation from fulfilling its human rights obligations.
Texas immediately appealed to the 5th Circuit, which issued a temporary administrative stay of Judge Ezra’s order to take effect on March 9 without Supreme Court intervention. The use of an administrative stay rather than a stay pending appeal will become important. For now, know that administrative stays are normally employed to freeze legal proceedings to preserve the status quo (i.e. the law of the land pre-SB 4) until judges can rule on a party’s request for a stay pending appeal (when further arguments will occur).
The DOJ appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to vacate the stay and leave Judge Ezra’s ruling in place while legal proceedings play out.

The ruling

A presumably six-justice majority ruled in favor of Texas, allowing SB 4 to take effect. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh were the only conservatives to go on record, with Barrett writing that the 5th Circuit’s unusual choice to use an administrative stay exempts the action from review:

If the Fifth Circuit had issued a stay pending appeal, this Court would apply the four-factor test set forth in Nken v. Holder—including, as relevant in this Court, an assessment of certworthiness—to decide whether to vacate it. But the Fifth Circuit has not entered a stay pending appeal. Instead, in an exercise of its docket management authority, it issued a temporary administrative stay and deferred the stay motion to a merits panel, which is considering it in conjunction with Texas’s challenge to the District Court’s injunction of S. B. 4. Thus, the Fifth Circuit has not yet rendered a decision on whether a stay pending appeal is warranted. That puts this case in a very unusual procedural posture…So far as I know, this Court has never reviewed the decision of a court of appeals to enter—or not enter—an administrative stay. I would not get into the business.

In other words, Barrett recognized the gamesmanship of issuing an administrative stay but chose not to intervene, effectively blessing the 5th Circuit’s ploy to allow SB 4 to take effect without proper review. She reveals this fact by saying “the time may come…when this Court is forced to conclude that an administrative stay has effectively become a stay pending appeal and review it accordingly…If a decision does not issue soon, the applicants may return to this Court.” No conservative justice, including Barrett, wrote about the impact of letting SB 4 take effect.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented, explaining why the 5th Circuit’s stay was misused:

An administrative stay…is intended to pause the action on the ground for a short period of time until a court can consider a motion for a stay pending appeal. For that reason, at a minimum, administrative relief should (1) maintain the status quo and (2) be time limited. The Fifth Circuit’s administrative stay here was neither, and thus constituted an abuse of discretion.
Here, the Fifth Circuit’s administrative stay upends the status quo because it allows S. B. 4—a brand new state law that alters the delicate balance of federal and state power in immigration enforcement—to go into effect. The District Court preliminarily enjoined S. B. 4 and declined to stay that injunction. The Fifth Circuit did not need to enter an administrative stay to preserve the status quo; the District Court’s decision already achieved that. The Fifth Circuit abused its discretion in entering the status-altering administrative stay.
The Fifth Circuit’s administrative stay is also temporally unbounded. Because the Fifth Circuit deferred consideration of the motion for a stay pending appeal, the administrative stay is likely to last until the merits panel receives briefing, hears oral argument, and renders a decision on either Texas’s appeal or at least Texas’s motion for a stay pending appeal. That timeline would leave the administrative stay in effect for well over a month.

If allowed to take effect, Sotomayor wrote, SB 4 “will transform the balance of power at the border and have life-altering consequences for noncitizens in Texas.”
Justice Elena Kagan, in her own dissent, wrote that she does “not think the Fifth Circuit’s use of an administrative stay, rather than a stay pending appeal, should matter. Administrative stays surely have their uses. But a court’s unreasoned decision to impose one for more than a month, rather than answer the stay pending appeal issue before it, should not spell the difference between respecting and revoking long-settled immigration law.”

Reverberations and reversal

Hours after the Supreme Court allowed SB 4 to take effect, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement condemning the law for “criminalizing” migrants and “encouraging that separation of families, discrimination and racial profiling that violate the human rights of the migrant community.” Consequently, Mexico declared that it “will not accept, under any circumstances, repatriations by the State of Texas,” setting up a major international incident should Texas try to deport individuals.
Luckily, late last night, a new panel of the 5th Circuit stepped in and ‘voted 2-1 to dissolve the administrative stay issued by a different panel earlier this month. Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, a G.W. Bush appointee, and Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a Biden appointee, lifted the stay, saying that the court will be hearing arguments for a stay pending appeal (the more appropriate kind of stay to use in this situation) on Wednesday. Judge Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, dissented, writing that he supports the use of an administrative stay while the 5th Circuit hears arguments in the case.
After all that turmoil, strained foreign relations, and fear and confusion among the migrant community, we are now back where we started with Judge Ezra’s order blocking SB 4 in place.

Mandatory minimum sentences

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling that limits who is eligible to escape harsh mandatory minimum sentences.

Background

The case, Pulsifer v. United States, originated in 2020 when a federal grand jury indicted Mark Pulsifer for selling over 50 grams of methamphetamine. Pulsifer pleaded guilty to one distribution charge and, because he had a prior drug conviction in 2013, was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
At sentencing, Pulsifer sought to obtain relief through the First Step Act’s “safety valve” provision that exempts nonviolent drug offenders from the mandatory minimum. In order to qualify, a person cannot have committed a specific number and type of crimes delineated by a points system:

...the court shall impose a sentence pursuant to guidelines promulgated by the United States Sentencing Commission under section 994 of title 28 without regard to any statutory minimum sentence, if the court finds at sentencing…that—
(1) the defendant does not have—
(A) more than 4 criminal history points, excluding any criminal history points resulting from a 1-point offense, as determined under the sentencing guidelines;
(B) a prior 3-point offense, as determined under the sentencing guidelines; and
(C) a prior 2-point violent offense, as determined under the sentencing guidelines;

According to Pulsifer’s—as well as the 4th, 9th, and 11th Circuit’s—reading of the law, a person is eligible for individualized sentencing unless they possess all three listed traits (A, B, and C). The government contends that is incorrect, and the Supreme Court should adopt the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Circuit’s interpretation: a person is eligible only when they do not have any of the three listed traits (A, B, or C).
For a case that turns on mere grammar, there are massive implications of a ruling in either party’s favor. If the safety valve provision is read as Pulsifer argued, about 66% (2021 data) of drug offenders, amounting to over 11,000 people, would be eligible for individualized sentencing. Under the government’s terms, only 44% (roughly 7,700 people) would have the opportunity for a lesser sentence.
With the freedom of thousands of individuals on the line, it is important to understand why Congress created the First Step Act. The U.S. incarcerates more people than anywhere else in the world. This trend started when President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs,” using fear and thinly veiled racial rhetoric to push punitive policies. According to John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s domestic policy advisor, the “war” began as a way to criminalize Blacks and the anti-war left.
Then, President Ronald Reagan came along and supercharged the federal incarceration machine. Under his influence, the FBI’s drug enforcement units saw their budget increase more than tenfold. Both parties in Congress passed Reagan-sponsored legislation to create 29 new mandatory minimum sentences, including one of the most racist criminal justice laws in recent memory: Sentences for the possession of crack cocaine were 100 times more severe than for powder cocaine. By the end of his two terms in office, the total prison population essentially doubled to 627,000.
Today, approximately 1.8 million people are incarcerated in the United States, down from an all-time high of 2.3 million in the mid-2000s. The decrease is due to criminal justice reform, including a revamping of the mandatory minimum sentencing laws in 2010—including a massive reduction to minimum crack cocaine sentences—and the First Step Act.

The ruling

Despite the clear intent of Congress to increase the number of people eligible to escape mandatory minimum sentences, a majority of the Supreme Court did the exact opposite last week. Justice Elena Kagan—joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett—ruled that an offender cannot have any of the three traits of the safety valve provision to obtain relief. In their interpretation, the word "and" serves a disjunctive purpose similar to the word "or." Put differently, a person is ineligible for relief if they have more than 4 criminal history points, or a prior 3-point offense, or a prior 2-point violent offense.
As a result, Pulsifer cannot seek individualized sentencing because he meets at least one of the criteria.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented, writing that the word “and” is an “additive conjunction” that disqualifies a person with all three traits in the safety valve provision. “A defendant may receive [individualized] sentencing unless he has trait A, trait B, together with trait C,” they explain.

What the language of paragraph (f )(1) suggests, surrounding context confirms. When Congress uses different terms in a statute, we normally presume it does so to convey different meanings…Here, we see just such a meaningful variation. When Congress sought a single word to indicate that one trait among many is sufficient to disqualify an individual from safety valve relief, it chose an obvious solution: not the conjunctive “and,” but the disjunctive “or.”
In fact, Congress used “or” this way no fewer than three times [within the same law]...The fact that Congress repeatedly used “or” when it wanted relief to turn on a single trait among many suggests that the “and” in paragraph (f )(1) performs different work. Even the government once acknowledged as much, conceding below that the “and” in paragraph (f )(1) is “most natural[ly]” read as requiring a sentencing court to find that a defendant possesses all three listed traits before holding him ineligible for relief.

Found a bunch of mistakes and issues with cards, so thought I should make a post so that people know what to avoid or why certain things work or don't work. There's also some other useful info and trivia.

Major issues:

• Cheese level 4 is bugged and gives only x0.08, reducing the order value to 8% of the original. It's supposed to be 2.08. At 5 or higher, it functions as expected again.
• Mint above level 10 gives -1s time reduction, making him do nothing no matter how high you bring him.
• Town manager crates are available in the pirate event. They should not be.
• These three issues have been fixed in the latest version.

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Beneficial bugs:

• If wood is being brought to the workshop through Order Wood, and before the order finishes, you go to town, the forklift will restart the order. The order will finish, and the forklift will still keep going until it once again delivered the full amount. As an example, an order for 50 planks, and after 48 you switch to the town. When you come back, the forklift grabs as many as it can, and brings it to the workshop, completing the order, but then keeps going until it finishes bringing over 50. Patched.
• Time travel. Same as the other game these developers made, if your internet is off, and you change the date, you can go back to an earlier point in time or go forward. This lets you stack up offline bonuses fast.
• Rollback duplication. Niche exploit which can be used to obtain copies of stuff normally available one time only. It involves loading your save in an outdated version of the game to clear the flags that tell the game you already did something. This is currently the only way to get multiple copies of Catsby or multiple epic tree crates.

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Card info:

• Facilities manager automation levels are incorrectly listed! Each shows they require level 3 for automation, but this is not the case. Rather, the manager for the first house requires level 1, second house requires level 2, third house requires level 3, fourth house requires level 4, and so on. This means that, yes, you need level 7 and hundreds of billions of points worth of crates to automate everything.
• Current max level for cards is 15 for most cards, 10 for all town cards, rare trees and gold cards, and 20 for production managers. This requires an extremely large amount of cards and fish, and is not viable under normal circumstances. If you reach this, though, it will always show that you can still upgrade the cards despite there not being an option to do so.
• Epic trees are currently only available from the invite link rewards. This means you can only get 2-4 cards total without duplication exploits.
• Due to a bug, Fury can go up to 25 now with no cost if you had him at 20 already.

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Legendary card effects:

Number	Name	Effect	Notes
1	Catsby	Gives gems every 4 hours.	Unobtainable without direct purchase.
2	Clova	Reduces tree growth time (and cutting time)
3	Sufer	Offline revenue bonus.
4	Junny	Wood value bonus
5	Saley	Order gold bonus
6	Mecha	Factory revenue bonus	Factory is workshop.
7	Vango	Nail and paint bonus
8	Ain	Jelly bonus	Pawprints from the workshop
9	Robo	Machinery revenue bonus	Everything that processes wood.
10	Flora	Construction speed bonus
11	Buzz	Free Sales Manager cards	Event reward
12	Bunny	Factory revenue bonus	Again, see Mecha (6)
13	Fairy	Free Workshop Manager cards	Event reward

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Maximum stats:

Dividing them by card type. Bolded names are the card type, and the value for that is the maximum level.

Name	Value	Effect
Production Manager	20	Boosts production value
Butterfly	x20639121408	Debarker 1
Grape	x408146688	Debarker 2
Mango	x408146688	Sawmill 1
Martha	x408146688	Sawmill 2
Lucy	x125971200	Sawmill 3
Maury	x181398528	Cutting 1
Rose	x125971200	Cutting 2
Berry	x12611344.043	Cutting 3
Dory	x8071260.188	Sanding 1
Nana	x8071260.188	Sanding 2
Leaf	x4540083.855	Sanding 3
Ray	16/x6	Wood truck capacity/speed
Betsy	8/x9.3	Forklift capacity/speed
Fury	75/11/x4.2/8	Storage cap/max amount/revenue/frequency
Sales Manager	15
Ale	x521	Fish points per order
Mint	-120s (at 10)	Order Cooldown
Cherry	+250%	Max orders
Cheese	x22.6	Gold per order
Polar	+230s	Extends Flash Sale time
Super Manager	10
Catsby	12	Gives gems every 4 hours.
Clova	-70%	Reduces tree growth time (and cutting time)
Sufer	x2.5	Offline revenue bonus.
Junny	x9.31	Wood value bonus
Saley	x57.6	Order gold bonus
Mecha	x57.6	Factory revenue bonus
Vango	+95%	Nail and paint bonus
Ain	x2	Jelly bonus
Robo	x28.46	Machinery revenue bonus
Flora	x28.46	Construction speed bonus
Buzz	15 hours	Get 1 Sales Manager card
Bunny	x22.72	Factory revenue bonus
Fairy	15 hours	Get 1 Workshop Manager card
Workshop Manager	15
Sumi	+75%	Reward value
Lotto	X10.7	Building speed
Fluffy	-75%	Material cost
Guru	8/x8.2	Transport capacity/speed
Gyro	380	Workshop storage
Rare Trees	10	Boosts tree value and machine profit
Maple	x2048	Debarker 1
Pine	x1536	Debarker 2
Ash	x1536	Sawmill 1
Palm	x1536	Sawmill 2
Birch	x1536	Sawmill 3
Plum	x576	Cutting 1
Ebony	x576	Cutting 2
Ipê	x576	Cutting 3
Chestnut	x324.16	Sanding 1
Spruce	x324.16	Sanding 2
Teak	x324.16	Sanding 3
Epic Trees	10	Boosts tree value, jelly rewards, production lines, and nail/paint rewards
Cedar	x13.81	Production line 1
Cypress	x13.81	Production line 2
Paulownia	x13.81	Production line 3
Elm	x2.47	Jelly
Black Locust	+10	Paint
Rosewood	+10	Nails
Purple Heart	x6.19
Real Estate Manager	10	Boosts house revenue
Stark	Unknown	Unobtainable
Nancy	4	Rustic Dream Cabin
Bean	4	Purple Flora House
Raon	4	Deep Sea Summer Cottage
Nunu and Lulu	4	Pink Family House
Pepper	4	Red Rose Summer Cottage
Dami	4	Vintage Bungalow
Charlie	4	Blue Moonlight Countryside Home
Facilities Manager	10	Automates and reduces time cap
Coco	-20%	Rustic Dream Cabin
Tiger	-20%	Purple Flora House
Pika	-20%	Deep Sea Summer Cottage
Dali	-20%	Pink Family House
Seti	-20%	Red Rose Summer Cottage
Leo	-20%	Vintage Bungalow
Pao	-20%	Blue Moonlight Countryside Home

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Other info:

• Houses cap at level 20, requiring 3, 5, 10 and 20 stocked up houses for promotions at level 5, 10, 15 and 20 respectively. This is 38 total. Leveling them up that much requires hundreds of millions of town currency.
• Trees cost 10240 jelly to upgrade from level 9 to level 10. You spend almost double that total per tree (20460 to be exact). Epic trees cost 25600 for the same step.
• Max level for the worker cats that plant and cut trees is 60.
• Forklift levels cap at 80 for the forklift from the wood storage, 101 from the debarker, 100 from the log storage, and 75 from the sawmill line.
• For building houses, the last 3 houses are the most efficient in terms of resources. In order from most efficient to least efficient, Red Rose Summer Cottage, Vintage Bungalow, Blue Moonlight Countryside Home, Pink Family Home, Deep Sea Summer Cottage, Purple Flora House, and finally the Rustic Dream Cabin. This was calculated by checking how much jelly you get per resource for each resource (planks, nails and paint), and then taking the average. However, only planks were inconsistent in that regard. This was changed in a patch when pink family home was adjusted.
• The Pink Family Home is surprisingly bad for all intents and purposes and I would not recommend building them unless you need them for the town upgrades or unlocking later houses.
• Tree bonuses apply even when not in use. The only advantage to actually using rare trees or epic trees is the x1.2 and x1.5 multiplier, but you can use any tree to get that. It's often best to just ignore that unless you can grow them fast enough to not run out of trees. If your workers have to pause, you're losing out on more.
• Tree bonuses do not improve the per minute value of the machines they are boosting, only the individual action values. This means it doesn't improve the value of orders, which depend on the per minute stats. However, it does boost the house price and offline time value.
• Tree bonuses are additive to each other, making the production line epic trees rather useless compared to the rare trees.
• If you get a priority order for the last house, you have 24 hours to complete it. It is, however, exceedingly rare to get this.
• If you maxed out construction speed and building speed, the last house takes only 3 minutes and 9 seconds to build.
• The Pink Family Home is so bad that it is still not worth building when you have a priority order for it unless you cannot get any of the later houses yet. If you can, just reroll. Fixed in current version.
• Maximum level for any of the equipment (debarker, sawmill, cutting, sanding) is 4000. You will not reach this normally at this point of the games lifespan.

Is Lithium sufficient to remove the functional Hydroxyl Group of Loperamide or do I need a complete birch Reduction or Sodium Amide?