Greetings forum members, I am new to ECF and this will be my first post outside the New Members section.
It was brought to my attention by my long-time friend Brad Bacher, whom you all seem to know is the man behind Box Elder Chemical Supply, Gourmet Vapor, and Honeyville Vapor, that Box Elder Chemical (hereinafter, “BE”) has recently come under fire for what has been alleged as poor quality control resulting in the shipment of a bottle of liquid nicotine that a member of this forum claimed to be of 245 mg strength where it should have been 100 mg strength. I have read through numerous posts on this thread and watched the recent broadcast on VapeTV.com in an effort to get up to speed. Admittedly, I am relatively new to your industry and may not use all of the accepted vernacular of the vaping community as I write, but I will do my best. For the sake of transparency, Brad and I have been friends for about 22 or 23 years. He followed his entrepreneurial heart and I followed family tradition into the field of law. I am now a month shy of 42 years of age, and five months from retiring from a long and rewarding career in law enforcement.
The purpose of my post is not to address the issue of liquid nicotine, it is to lend my support to a man I know as a moral and ethical person who would never want to cause injury to another. I am relieved that no one was injured and encouraged that most of the ECF community demonstrated responsible positions when posting on this issue. Admittedly, I am a bit disappointed that there seemed to be some that merely rode the bandwagon, so to speak, having nothing constructive to say. There were a few personal attacks toward Brad and the initial response by Box Elder Chemical. Whereas, I have never been in a position of running a successful company, it makes sense to me that BE would first take a defensive posture when such a claim is leveled with a questionable foundation. When told of the allegation my first reaction was to question the integrity of the evidence. In this case, an open bottle of liquid purported to be from BE with a high concentration of nicotine forwarded to an individual with declared credentials with no supporting curriculum vitae, who tested and published scientific results naming and publicly condemning a company (BE) while knowing the source of the material could never truly be assigned and admitting the possibility of sabotage. Such a scenario would not fare well under scrutiny of a prosecuting attorney and would quickly be rejected on the basis of evidence problems.
I understand that this is a forum of members of the vaping community, not a prosecutorial screening team, but when the very existence of a good company run by a good man who employs several good people at a time where many are unemployed or underemployed is facing destruction, and the very industry it represents is under constant threat of government regulation, it should be paramount that people post responsibly and all possibilities considered. I did read many posts that offered good direction for Brad and Box Elder Chemical, suggesting a recall of product in the interest of safety – even if it could not be verified that the liquid in question was as it was when shipped from their inventory.
I had a discussion with Brad earlier this date where he informed me that he had reached a decision to honor the call and advice of the ECF community and issue a recall in the interest of safety. If I can offer anything to this community about the character of the man I have called friend for two decades it is that Brad would quit this industry tomorrow if he knew he was putting out potentially harmful product, and he will work tirelessly to eliminate any safety concerns.
Though I am a new member, no one else on this forum is more qualified to speak to Brad’s character and I felt it my duty to do so. I accept that I will likely be the recipient of so choice words or challenging remarks and I am thick skinned enough to handle it. I ask that if you feel the need to communicate with me using my provided email address that such communication be productive and not for other purposes.
Thank you,
Nick DeLand
Salt Lake City, Utah
nickdeland@gmail.com
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