# Cyanide delievery overnight?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-delievery-overnight/662533>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 3, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-delievery-overnight/662533 "2013-07-03T12:55:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-delievery-overnight/662533/1 "2013-07-03T12:55:23Z")

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[This guy was able to kill himself after his conviction for rape in the courtroom with cyanide that he had over nighted to him.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/02/steve-parsons-suicide-sodomy_n_3537104.html?ncid=webmail7) How is that even possible? Don’t you need to show some legit reason to need cyanide?

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**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-delievery-overnight/662533/2 "2013-07-03T13:03:21Z")

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I wouldn’t be surprised if this - and the other one last year - makes it more difficult to order cyanide in the future.

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**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-delievery-overnight/662533/3 "2013-07-03T14:20:26Z")

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More difficult? Why is it even possible now? Is there some industrial use for cyanide that makes it important enough to justify a rush shipment by some courier? You would think that if you used it in a process that you would be required to go down and pick it up yourself and not just have it sent by air shipment.

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**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-delievery-overnight/662533/4 "2013-07-03T14:34:21Z")

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Poison by any other name? Compounds containing cyanide are used in paper making, textiles, plastics, commercial exterminator porducts, metal cleaning and plating etc.

Fun bonus fact - acetonitrile-based products that are used to remove artificial nails can produce cyanide when metabolized by the body.

If cyanide and its compounds were singled out for greater restrictions on access, not only would that have a profound effect on many businesses, but there are just so many other methods a determined individual could use.

Bottom line, it would be seriously impractical to try and strictly regulate all poisons.