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CHEMICALS   meth

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Methamphetamine Frequently Asked Questions
BY DEADLOCK AT PARANOIA.COM AND OTHERS
v 1.0 - 1996
minor update Jan 2005, by Erowid
Erowid Note: This FAQ was not authored by Erowid. It may include out-of-date and/or
incorrect information. Please check the version date to see when it was most
recently revised. It appears on Erowid as part of our historical archives. For
current information, see Erowid's summary pages in the substance's main vault.
INDEX
ABSTRACT
DISCLAIMER
REVISION HISTORY
OVERVIEW
PHARMACOLOGY
CHEMISTRY
SYNTHESIS
RELATED CHEMISTRY
STREET KNOWLEDGE
MYTHS & RUMORS
INCORRECT SYNTHESIS

Abstract
While no list is ever complete, this one attempts to answer technical questions
related to the chemical methamphetamine. Unfortunately, there tends to be a great
deal of street lore that is blatantly wrong about methamphetamine and similar
compounds. This document also attempts to point out some of the more common myths,
and provide rational explanations.

Disclaimer
This information has been gathered from openly available sources.

This FAQ is provided for informational purposes ONLY. The authors, contributors,
and editors do not advocate the use of anything described in this document, and
accept NO responsibility for any harm that might occur as a result of acting on any
of the information contained here. Although good faith effort has been made to
ensure the validity of the information contained in this document, no guarantees or
assurances of accuracy are provided by anyone. Read at your own risk, act at your
own risk.

Revision History
1.1 - Jan 3, 2005 - by Erowid : Minor updates, added version history, updated
disclaimer .
1.0 Apr 15, 1996 - First public release, by deadlock at paranoia.com.
Overview
Methamphetamine (also known as speed, meth, crystal, crank, tina, and sometimes
confusingly called ice) is a chemical widely known for its stimulant properties on
the human body. It is frequently confused with other drugs that share similar
effects, including amphetamine, 4-methyl-aminorex, ephedrine, caffeine, and other
chemicals, both legal and illegal.

Terminology
In this document, we shall refer to the drugs by their common chemical names,
rather than by "street names", since the street names do not have a one-to-one
correspondence to actual chemicals. For example, the term "speed" can mean
methamphetamine or amphetamine. The term "ice" is generally considered to apply to
4-methyl-aminorex, but is often used to refer to relatively pure (and in some
cases, not so pure) forms of methamphetamine.

We shall use the term "methamphetamine" to refer to the substance in either its
free base (i.e. simple, unadorned) or salt (usually hydrochloride) form. When
precision is needed, we shall explicitly state one form or the other.

Pharmacology
This is one of the most difficult sections to write, partially because there is
very little "science" involved. The literature gives conflicting reports, due to
the fact that many criteria are subjective, and probably also due to confusion over
terminology.

The pharmacological effects of methamphetamine are very similar to those of

similarly structured molecules.

Administration
Methamphetamine can be taken orally, snorted, smoked or injected, in approximately
increasing order of immediacy of onset.

Onset
Onset can be immediate (in the case of injection), or can take as long as 30-40
minutes if ingested orally.

Duration
Duration is subjective, but is probably on the order of 4 - 8 hours. Delayed
absorption (for example, due to oral ingestion) can prolong the effects relative to
time of administration. Of course, larger doses last longer due to the fact that it
is removed from the blood at a finite rate.

Plasma Life
The length of time that methamphetamine will stay in the plasma (blood) is between
4 to 6 hours. It can be detected in the urine one hour after use and up to 48 hours
after use.

Dosage
A toxic reaction (or overdose) can occur at relatively low levels, 50 milligrams of
pure drug for a non-tolerant user. Different peoples' metabolisms work at different
rates, and drug strengths vary, so there is no way of stating a "safe" or "unsafe"
level of use.

Effects
These include euphoria, hyperexcitability, extreme nervousness, accelerated
heartbeat, sweating, dizziness, restlessness, insomnia, tooth grinding, incessant
talking, and other effects.
Methamphetamine and other CNS stimulants have strong bronchodilation effects.
Vasoconstriction (tightening of blood vessels) and pupil dilation are also common.
Elevated blood pressure, heart rate, and other general symptoms of increased
sympathetic nervous activity.

The physical effects are almost assuredly due to interactions between the
amphetamine structure and human physiology, probably due to the similarity to
adrenaline (epinephrine).

Mental capacity is not diminished directly by the drug. In fact, some studies have
shown slight increases in mental capacity on simple tasks. It has been prescribed
for attention deficit disorder, among other things.

Confusing reports here tend to center around the effects of fatigue on mental
capacity.

Emotional responses may range from euphoria to anger and paranoia. Preliminary
doses tend to produce the former, while continued use (e.g. for three or more days)
tends to produce the latter.

It appears that these feelings may be linked to the neurotransmitters dopamine

and/or serotonin, although we have not seen a good reference on this yet.

For More Information

Add references for pharmacological data here

Chemistry
Molecular Information
All information is on free base unless otherwise noted.

Naming
Methamphetamine Free Base:
Chem Abstract Service (9th+ CIP) uninverted name:
N,alpha-Dimethylbenzeneethanamine

Previous name:
d-N,alpha-dimethylphenethylamine
Alternate Names:
d-N-methylamphetamine
d-deoxyephedrine (e.g. right-handed ephedrine, minus an oxygen)
d-desoxyephedrine
1-phenyl-2-methylaminopropane
d-phenylisopropylmethane
methyl-beta-phenylisopropylamine
Trademarks:
Not available.
Methamphetamine Hydrochloride:

What we mean by hydrochloride is that it has formed a "salt". The basic structure
is unchanged, but an HCl molecule has become attracted to the free base. In this
case, the hydrogen from the HCl has become attracted to the nitrogen in the free
base.

You will notice that the salt form is much more common. This is for physiological
reasons. The same reaction which attracts the free base to HCl could also attract
it to other molecules, causing irritation and other symptoms.

Trademarks:
Desoxyn (contemporary, 5 mg pills)
Amphedroxyn
Desfedrin
Methedrine
Norodin, Syndrox, Edroxine, Methampex, etc.
Structure

Formula
Methamphetamine Free Base:
C6H6CH2CH(NHCH3)CH3

Hill Convention:
C10H15N
Molecular Weight
149.24

Percent Composition
C 80.48% H 10.13% N 9.39%
Melting Point
170-175 degrees C

Chirality
Explain isomers in chemical terms.

The human terms:

The d- is cool, the l- is shit, remember. If you have time, energy, and equipment,
you can separate the two and reprocess the l- into d- by oxidizing it and
reaminating it as described in the "critique" of the Phrack synthesis.

Discuss other opinions (some say chirality does not matter, etc.)

For More Information

The Merck Index

Synthesis
Industrial Methods
(add references)
Reduction of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine
Reducing condensation product of BMK and methylamine
Synthesis from D-phenylalanine
Field Methods
General
Add a lot here on different methods.

From: [email protected] (Lamont Granquist)

[email protected] (Jason Kennerly) writes:
Manufacturing methamphetamine, on the other hand, requires the use of not just
ether, but reducing agents such as LiAlH4. BAD STUFF! There are other recipes, but
none to practical to attempt. Apartment manufacture of meth is not possible.
Reduction of ephedrine with HI is a little better than LAH reduction.
Condensation Product of Phenylacetone and Methylamine
From: [email protected] (Speed Raver)

Assuming you don't have amphetamine lying around, an easy synthesis with a very
high yield is to reduce the condensation product of phenylacetone and methylamine.
The benefit of this method is that different amines can be used to produce novel N-
alkyl amphetamines (ethamphetamine, tert-butylamphetamine, etc.)
From Ephedrine or Pseudoephedrine
From: [email protected] (Speed Raver)
Making it from ephedrine or pseudoephedrine is possible. The only difference
between methamphetamine and (pseudo)ephedrine is that damn alpha-hydroxy group.
Reacting your ephedrine with thionyl chloride replaces the OH with Cl to produce N-
methyl-alpha-chloroamphetamine as an intermediate. Hydrogenating this product is
easy: use lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, or even hydrogen gas with
nickel or platinum metal as a catalyst. The product of this step is N-
methylamphetamine and HCl. Evaporate off the water and you have methamphetamine
hydrochloride.

From: [email protected] (Yogi Shan)

Hydrogenation starting with (-) ephedrine, whether direct or via the halide, will
give d-meth. If you start with dl-ephedrine, you get dl-meth.
Reduction With Hydroiodic Acid and Red Phosphorus
From: [email protected] (Lamont Granquist)

From Fester, Secrets of Meth Manufacturing:

Method 4: Reduction With Hydroiodic Acid and Red Phosphorus

In this procedure, the alcohol grouping of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or PPA is

reduced by boiling one of these compounds in a mixture of hydroiodic acid and red
phosphorus. Hydroiodic acid works as a reducing agent because its dissociates at
higher temperatures to iodine and hydrogen, which does the reducing. The
dissociation is reversible. The equilibrium is shifted in favor of dissociation by
adding red phosphorus to the mixture. The red phosphorus reacts with the iodine to
produce PI3, which then further reacts with water to form phosphorus acid and more
hydroiodic acid. Since the hydrogen atom of the HI is being absorbed by the
ephedrine, the red phosphorus acts as a recycler.

In some reductions, the need for HI is dispensed with just by mixing red phosphorus
and iodine crystals in a water solution. The red phosphorus then goes on to make HI
by the above mentioned process. With a small amount of due care, this is an
excellent alternative to either purchasing, stealing, or making your own pure
hydroiodic acid.

This method has the advantage of being easy to do. It was formerly the most popular
method of making meth from ephedrine. Now red phosphorus is on the California list
of less restricted chemicals, so an increased level of subterfuge is called for to
obtain significant amounts. One might think that this is easily gotten around by
making your own red phosphorus, but this is a process I would not want to
undertake. Ever hear of phosphorus shells? I would much rather face the danger of
exploding champagne bottles. Those who insist on finding out for themselves, will
see Journal of the American Chemical Society, volume 68, page 2305. As I recall,
the Poor Man's James Bond also has a formula for making red phosphorus. Those with
a knack for scrounging from industrial sources will profit from knowing that red
phosphorus is used in large quantities in the fireworks and matchmaking industries.
The striking pad on books of matches is about 50% red phosphorus.

The determined experimenter could obtain a pile of red phosphorus by scraping off
the striking pads of matchbooks with a sharp knife. A typical composition of the
striking pad is about 40% red phosphorus, along with about 30% antimony sulfide,
and lesser amounts of glue, iron oxide, MnO2, and glass powder. I don't think these
contaminants will seriously interfere with the reaction. Naturally, it is a tedious
process to get large amounts of red phosphorus by scraping the striking pads off
matchbooks.

Another problem with this method is that it can produce a pretty crude product if
some simple precautions are not followed. From checking out typical samples of
street meth, it seems basic precautions are routinely ignored. I believe that the
by-products in the garbage meth are iodoephedrine, and the previously mentioned
azirine. If a careful fractional distillation is done, these products can be
removed. They can be avoided in the first place if, when making hydroiodic acid
from iodine and red phosphorus, the acid is prepared first, and allowed to come to
complete reaction for 20 minutes before adding the ephedrine to it. This will be a
hassle for some, because the obvious procedure to follow is to use the water
extract of the ephedrine pills to make the HI in. The way around the roadblock here
is to just boil off some more of the water from the ephedrine pill extract, and
make the acid mixture in fresh pure water. Since the production of HI from iodine
and red phosphorus gives off a good deal of heat, it is wise to chill the mixture
in ice, and slowly add the iodine crystals to the red phosphorus-water mixture.

To do the reaction, a 1000 ml round bottom flask is filled with 150 grams of
ephedrine hydrochloride (or PPA-HCl). The use of the sulfate salt is unacceptable
because HI reduces the sulfate ion, so this interferes with the reaction. Also
added to the flask are 40 grams of red phosphorus and 340 ml of 47% hydroiodic
acid. This same acid and red phosphorus mixture can be prepared from adding 150
grams of iodine crystals to 150 grams of red phosphorus in 300 ml of water. This
should produce the strong hydroiodic acid solution needed. Exactly how strong the
acid needs to be, I can't say . I can tell you that experiments have shown that one
molar HI is ineffective at reducing ephedrine to meth. The 47% acid mentioned above
is a little over 3.5 molar. I would think that so long as one is over 3 molar acid,
the reaction will work.

With the ingredients mixed together in the flask, a condenser is attached to the
flask, and the mixture is boiled for one day. This length of time is needed for
best yields and highest octane numbers on the product. While it is cooking, the
mixture is quite red and messy looking from the red phosphorus floating around in
it.

When one day of boiling under reflux is up, the flask is allowed to cool, then it
is diluted with an equal volume of water. Next, the red phosphorus is filtered out.
A series of doubled up coffee filters will work to get out all the red phosphorus,
but real filter paper is better. The filtered solution should look a golden color.
A red color may indicate that all the phosphorus is not yet out. If so, it is
filtered again. The filtered-out phosphorus can be saved for use in the next batch.
If filtering does not remove the red color, there may be iodine floating around the
solution. It can be removed by adding a few dashes of sodium bisulfate or sodium
thiosulfate.

The next step in processing the batch is to neutralize the acid. A strong lye
solution is mixed up and added to the batch with shaking until the batch is
strongly basic. This brings the meth out as liquid free base floating on top of the
water. The strongly basic solution is shaken vigorously to ensure that all the meth
has been converted to the free base.

With free base meth now obtained, the next step, as usual, is to form the
crystalline hydrochloride salt of meth. To do this, a few hundred mls of toluene is
added to the batch, and the meth free base extracted out as usual. If the chemist's
cooking has been careful, the color of the toluene extract will be clear to pale
yellow. If this is the case, the product is sufficiently pure to make nice white
crystals just by bubbling dry HCl gas through the toluene extract as described in
Chapter 5. If the toluene extract is darker colored, a distillation is called for
to get pure meth free base. The procedure for that is also described in Chapter 5.
The yield of pure methamphetamine hydrochloride should be from 100 to 110 grams.
Lithium-Ammonia Reduction
Reference: Ely, R. A. and McGrath, D.C., "Lithium-Ammonia Reduction of Ephedrine to
Methamphetamine: An Unusual Clandestine Synthesis," Journal of Forensic Sciences,
JFSCA, Vol. 35, No. 3, May 1990, pp. 720-723

Procedure:

All the chemicals were reagent grade, with no special treatment of the
tetrahydrofuran (THF), and the atmosphere above the condensed ammonia was not
flushed with nitrogen gas.

A three-neck flask was cooled in a dry ice/acetone bath. A condenser was fitted in
the center neck, an additional funnel containing l-ephedrine base in THF was fitted
into one side neck, and a rubber stopper fitted with a glass tube extending to the
bottom of the flask was fitted in the third neck. Anhydrous ammonia gas was
condensed and collected in the flask. Small pieces of lithium metal were rinsed in
petroleum ether, patted dry, and added to the condensed ammonia. A deep royal blue
color was noted as the lithium metal dissolved in the condensed ammonia.

The l-ephedrine was added drop wise to the lithium ammonia solution over a period
of approximately 10 minutes with stirring. When all of the l-ephedrine had been
added, ammonium chloride was added slowly to the solution. The flask was removed
from the cooling bath, and the condensed ammonia was allowed to warm to room
temperature and evaporate from the flask through the side necks.

When most of the ammonia had evaporated, water was added to the remaining solution
until it cleared and any remaining lithium metal was decomposed. The remaining
solution was removed from the flask to a separatory funnel, where the aqueous layer
was discarded. The THF layer was dried with magnesium sulfate, and the
hydrochloride salt of the methamphetamine was made by bubbling hydrogen chloride
through the THF.

The same procedure was used, substituting phenylproponolamine and methylephedrine

as the starting materials. A second synthesis was conducted with l-ephedrine, using
the same procedure except that the reaction was not quenched with ammonium
chloride.

Results:

The reaction was found to reduce l-ephedrine to d-methamphetamine quickly and

easily . Furthermore, it was found that the reaction converted phenylpropanolamine
to amphetamine and methylephedrine to dimethylamphetamine. The time required for
the reaction to proceed from the condensing of the ammonia gas in the reaction
flask until the excess lithium was decomposed was approximately one hour. The
majority of this time was spent waiting for the condensed ammonia to evaporate from
the reaction flask.

It was also found that the ephedrine would reduce to methamphetamine without the
addition of ammonium chloride as a quenching agent.

From: [email protected] (Eleusis)

According to the infamous J.For.Sci. article describing a "novel method of

amphetamine production", the researchers concluded that with or without an ammonium
chloride quench yields were good. I like this article especially because the rinky-
dink DEA chemists that wrote it didn't seem to entirely grasp the concept of the
procedure they were doing (in fact, a slightly modified Birch reduction known by
some other name I can't recall). All in all, quite an entertaining and educational
article ;-).

From: [email protected] (DMurphy3)

This may be so (in fact I read the same article), but typically a water quench
leads to the alcohol, which is what we were trying to get rid of to start with.
Also, if one were using Na rather than Li (Na is the Birch, I too forget the Li
named reduction), adding water to quench will *definitely* be exciting,
particularly considering the flammability of THF or ether.

Apparently they were following the guys handwritten notes. It would have been even
more interesting had they used the real Birch method, using Na, especially when
they tried the water quench ;>)

From: [email protected] (Eleusis)

Yep - apparently that would be the case. As well, any extra Li (or Na if doing the
straight Birch method) would convert to the Hydroxide, which might fuck the product
up a bit.

I bet you they *did* do that the first time, and then, after they replaced that
wing of the lab, they decided not to "publish" those results ;-).
From Phenylalanine
From: [email protected] (Speed Raver)

A surprisingly simple synthesis is possible from the amino acid phenylalanine,

which is available at health food stores for about $14 for 100 tablets.
Phenylalanine is 2-amino-3-phenylpropanoic acid, which is more or less amphetamine
with a COOH where the CH3 should be at the end of the chain. Thionyl chloride will
replace the OH with a Cl, which falls off and is replaced by H when you give it
lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, or hydrogen gas and nickel/platinum.
If you use hydrogen and metal for that step, you'll ha v e to reduce the carbonyl
group with one of the hydrides, so best save time + effort and use them and do both
reductions at once. When that carbonyl is reduced, you now have amphetamine. Go
back up to that first one I mentioned for upgrading amphetamine into
methamphetamine.
Incomplete Syntheses
These are methods that are subjectively evaluated to be less useful, but still may
serve as interesting lessons in applied chemistry.
Synthesis from Amphetamine
From: [email protected] (Speed Raver)

One of the easiest ways to make methamphetamine is from amphetamine. Of course,

this assumes you have amphetamine in the first place, but let's just pretend you
have some and you want to spice it up a bit. The difference between amphetamine and
methamphetamine is the addition of a single methyl group (CH3) to the amino group
sticking off the middle carbon atom in the chain. Fortunately, substituting amines
is really simple. Vaporize your amine (your amphetamine) with a bunch of vaporized
chloromethane (CH3Cl, a solvent) and some gaseous pyridine... voila, the amino
group takes the methyl from the chloromethane and lets a hydrogen go. The hydrogen
joins the liberated chlorine, and the resulting HCl is soaked up by the pyridine.
The pyridine is optional. Adding it drives the reaction a bit by pulling the excess
HCl out of the equation, but it's not necessary.
Methylamine
From: [email protected] (David Naugler)
[email protected] (Jason Kennerly) writes:
Does the P2P method [reductive amination] ever end up attaching TWO chains to the
same methylamine, producing a crazy looking monster with two "wings"
This last question is solved be reference to a principle called the law of mass
action. An excess of methylamine will inhibit the secondary reactions.

Typically, a reductive amination done in a parr bomb or using sodium

cyanoborohydride is done with a five times molar excess of methylamine (or
methylamine hydrochloride.)
Phenylacetone
From: [email protected] (Jason Kennerly)

Let me know how bromobenzene + acetone + NaOH turns out. I'm interested in this
since I haven't seen it anywhere else (unlike some people, I don't have the
Abstracts in my closet :)

Make sure to use an EXCESS of acetone, because 1 its more readily available and 2
it will prevent any diphenyl/triphenyl/xphenyl acetone from forming.

Hell, if your making straight amphetamine, you could even just go with acetone as
the solvent too, if you could come up with a good way to separate the 2-
aminopropane you'd make with the amphetamine. Given that this gunk has a bp of 33
or 34 degrees at standard pressure, it shouldn't be too hard. Smells like ammonia
though... maybe you should "catch" it in HCl water when you distill.

As with any distillation there will be some left over. Never fear, 2aminopropane
(or "isopropylamine") is water MISCIBLE. Yes, the BASE form is miscible w/ H2O!
Amphetamine BASE is only "slightly" soluble in water, so if your really a purist
you can dissolve your "mostly amphetamine some 2aminopropane" in ether and backwash
with water maybe ONCE. Then precipitate the crystals with dry HCl or H2SO4?

Question is, how much ammonia and reducing agent are you willing to waste on making
2aminopropane?
Purification by Crystallization
From: [email protected] (Sean Casey)

For a purification by crystallization of any of the HCL salts of ephedrine and

related illegals, I'd suggest a two solvent system with methanol and
methylethylketone. This tends to occlude a slight amount of solvent so keep your
crystal size small and grind and dry the result. Both these solvents are easily
available if you know where to look.

I wouldn't suggest ethanol or acetone as they tend to easily collect H2O; this can
happen unexpectedly and when it does, their solvency power will greatly increase,
redissolving your crystals. Be careful as methanol is toxic; don't get it on you or
breathe the fumes.

Read a lab handbook about two-solvent purification by crystallization. Fascinating

stuff.
Related Chemistry
amphetamine
ephedrine
pseudoephedrine
phenylalanine
Street Knowledge
Very scientifically unsound, but interesting nonetheless.
Street Doses
An average wrap of speed contains less than 10% Amphetamines, (often as low as 2%)
and over 90% of adulterants.
Coloration
From: [email protected] (Jason Kennerly)

Methamphetamine in its pure hydrochloride salt form is colorless. However, products

on the market today are often not colorless. The following is a table of some
common impurities and the colors associated with them. Note: There is no doubt a
segment of the dealers who will add food coloring or some other such color to their
drug to make it more appealing, with the philosophy that a brightly-colored product
may sell better than an off color product. This is relatively uncommon however.
RED: The product was made from pseudoephedrine, and the red coloring of the tablet
was not adequately washed away (it is difficult)
ORANGE: Ephedrine sulfate was used, and some of the sulfate was reduced to sulfur.
PURPLE: Iodine from a phosphorus-iodine reaction was not washed out.
GREEN: Copper (or other metallic) salts somehow made their way in to the mixture,
probably due to the reaction vessel used in the manufacture.
BROWN: Oxidized red coloring (see above), or tablating agent was present in the
reduction.
Sometimes "speed" is present as waxy rocks that almost seem wet, but do not dry out
properly. I am not sure what the cause of this is, but its most likely some form of
oil, either formed in the reaction or left over from a very poor solvent. It may or
may not be harmless depending upon what it is. This oil is often removed with
acetone, but ethyl-ether would be better suited for this as it dries faster.

Pure methamphetamine HCl melts at around 170c (338f ). The crystals can be
carefully chopped and mixed with sodium carbonate, and when the resulting powder is
heated (and the methamphetamine HCl melts) CO2 and methamphetamine base vapor is
given off. This is probably one of the more effective ways of smoking meth if you
are careful, however the hydrochloride salt is often the form smoked as the base
form is often an oil and is difficult to store, transport, and work with. Smoking
the HCl form is OK if you don't mind a small quantity of pyrolysed drug.

d-methamphetamine is, by nature, optically active. l-methamphetamine is also

optically active, but in the "opposite" direction. You can test methamphetamine HCl
for optical activity with the greyish-clear plastic pieces from a pocket video
game. Dissolve the methamphetamine in distilled water, then place one of the
optical filters (the grayish clear things from the games LCD display) in front, and
one in behind of the solution. Rotate one filter, and note the angle that is
brightest and the angle that is darkest. If many "swirlies" appear, either use a
different vessel to hold the solution in, or make sure the solution is well
stirred. After you have done this, repeat the procedure with distilled water. A
handy thing to use as a "calibration" of sorts is to extract the l-desoxyephedrine
from a Vicks Inhaler (which is l-methamphetamine), and run this test on it as well.

RESULT:
Same as water: DL-methamphetamine (or other inactive) Most likely made from P2P
(methamphetamine) or DLPA (phenylalanine). The DLPA-crank may in fact only be dl-
amphetamine. Might be 100% cut [read: nothing] also...

Same as Vicks: You've been ripped off ! -or- there's so much unchanged ephedrine as
to cancel the dextrorotary effects of the meth (l-ephedrine, when reduced, is
dextrorotary (see explanation elsewhere)

Opposite of vicks compared to water: DL-methamphetamine. Dextrorotary product is

almost certainly methamphetamine (or extracted dexedrines?) as its is not worth the
trouble to get other dextrorotary precursors or resolve dl-amphetamine...

Worth Noting: Cathinone and Methcathinone, when dissolved in methanol, will become
racemic due to the nature of the molecule (keytone). I'm not sure what other
conditions cause this but I am aware that it happens easily, so methcathinone from
the black market is almost definitely racemic...
The EPHEDRINE/CAT TEST
Its probably not too uncommon that some guy screws up a synthesis, but by some
chance gets a partial yield. Or a dealer uses Ephedrine as cut. The problem with
Ephedrine (far more so than pseudephedrine) is its beta-agonist properties - it
raises blood pressure and pulse far more per "unit of high" than methamphetamine.
It is advisable to become familiar with the many ways of synthesizing methcathinone
from (pseudo)ephedrine, as just such a procedure can be used on freshly produced
methamphetamine to verify that the (pseudo)ephedrine was in fact reduced.

The smell of basic methcathinone has been reported to resemble that of "pistachio
ice cream". Suffice to say that it is sweet, pleasant, and to a cat-head, nirvana.
You should become familiar with this as well, in order to be able to know if
suspected methamphetamine is in fact actually methcathinone.

The "BURN TEST" [residue test]

Methamphetamine HCl is heated on a piece of foil over a flame. It should first melt
(at over 170c) then begin to fume. Often the fumes will ignite. All amphetamines
will pass this test that I am aware off, including the over-the-counter l-isomer
present in vicks inhalers (the *only* way to check this is to check optical
activity , either by resolution or by actually measuring it with optical filters).
Methcathinone HCl has a higher melting point than methamphetamine HCl (like over
190c at least) and a characteristic smell, giving it away in an instant. Residue
left behind may be by-product or "cut", there's no good way to tell which...
Suffice to say that if there is more than a very small amount left afterwards,
there is either cut or by-products present.

The TASTE TEST [illegal without prescription snicker snicker]

Methamphetamine has a very bitter taste. Amphetamine has a bitter taste, followed
by some degree of numbness. This isn't the most useful test in the world,
especially considering it relies upon subjective senses too much IMHO, but it may
help discern the product. Methamphetamine is also more active on serotonin that
amphetamine according to net resources.

From: [email protected] (DMurphy3)

Sometimes 'speed' is present as waxy rocks that almost seem wet, but do not dry out
properly. I am not sure what the cause of this is, but its most likely some form of
oil, either formed in the reaction or left over from a very poor solvent. It may or
may not be harmless depending upon what it is.
It is more than likely the "didesoxyephedrine" referred to by Emde, a product of
the coupling of two radicals of the reduced ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. It
appears to some extent in almost all syntheses relying on reduction and typically
appears at the very end of the process of forming the HCl salt by bubbling HCl
through the mixture. And no, I haven't forgotten my promise to post this paper. The
scans just sucked when I tried to scan as text (5 pages magically became 10-15 of
scrambled text). I am currently trying gif type scans. The *oil* may be removed, as
you stated, by washing with ether. However, it will never dry out as completely one
might suspect. Even drying under heavy vacuum leads to only a temporary solution.
Once it is exposed to air it quickly becomes an oil again. Often this is a brown
color as you stated for other by-products. As far as the rest of the post, I find
it very useful and agree with it completely.
Myths and Rumors
"Smelling meth on a person"
Fatigue causes secretion of different chemicals, including ammonia, from the body.
Thus you are smelling fatigue, not meth.

"Made from poison"

Made from several toxic chemicals; this does not mean it is itself poisonous. For
example, drinkable salt water can be made from lye and muriatic acid.

"Used to cut other drugs"

Overstated in this role. Usually something much cheaper (and less clean) is used.

"Meth Oil" ??
"Speed Bumps"
Refers to the pimples that heavier users get, or the scabs and sores where a person
has picked off bits of skin while they were really strung out.

Incorrect Syntheses
Phrack Magazine
Volume One, Issue Four, Phile / 8 of 11
THE TRIED AND TRUE
HOME PRODUCTION METHOD FOR
"METHAMPHETAMINE"
Written and tested by: The Leftist.
What to do with it once you have made it.
Take a ball about the size of a lead pellet, and wrap it in tissue, and swallow, or
you can put it in capsules and use it. You can smoke it, mix it with vitamin B-12,
and snort it like cocaine. You can also sell it, for about $65-70.00 a gram, and
don't forget to cut it. Remember, this is pure stuff!!
List of chemicals and materials
Dilute Hydrochloric acid--> This may be purchased at the hardware store. It sold as
a brick and driveway cleaner. They call it muriatic acid.

Sodium Hydroxide--> This, you probably already have. It's called "lye" at most
places; it's drain cleaner.

Ethyl Ether--> You'll probably have to make this. Don't worry, it's a breez Just go
to your local K-mart or Auto parts store, and get a can of that "STARTING FLUID" it
comes in a spray can. It's used for cold weather starting of gasoline engines.

"VICKS" nasal inhalers--> USE ONLY VICKS!! No other kind will work that I know of.
These are at any drug store or grocery, etc.. You need 12 of em, but don't buy em'
by the dozen, unless its winter time, then you can just say yer from some nursing
home, and you're stockin up for the patients. Otherwise buy em' 2 at a time, if
possible. Get a friend to help you. The druggists at the drug store usually will
know what's goin on if you buy quantity.
LIST OF EQUIPMENT
Two large eyedroppers
ten small glass bottles
one large glass or porcelain bowl
coffee filters
one small jar with a top
one Pyrex baking dish
one glass test tube.
-==*(> N O T I C E <)*==-
PLEASE! DON'T SMOKE IN THE SAME ROOM WHEN YOU DO THIS. OPEN A WINDOW IN THE ROOM IF
POSSIBLE. FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY. THIS RECIPE HAS BEEN TESTED AND THIS
IS T BEST WAY TO DO IT. DON'T TAKE SHORTCUTS, AND DON'T EVEN START TO DO THIS
UNLESS YOU HAVE ABOUT 3 HOURS SPARE.
PREPARING ETHER!
(DO THIS FIRST)

Take one of the small bottles and spray starter fluid in it till it looks half-
full. Then fill the rest of the way with water, cap the bottle and shake for 5
minutes. Then, draw off the top layer with the eyedropper, and throw away the water
layer. Repeat this until you have about 3 oz. of ether. Put the cap on it, and put
it in the refrigerator if you can. (If you can't, don worry about it) You'll use
this in the procedure below.
THE TRIED AND TRUE HOME PRODUCTION METHOD
Break open the inhalers, a pair of real sharp scissors does this good. Place the
cottons that were inside in a jar and close the lid. (Remember you use all 12
cottons.)

In the bowl, combine 1- 1/3 oz. water and 2/3 oz. muriatic acid. Shred cottons in
this solution, and knead for 5 minutes with hands. (ALWAYS BE SURE THERE'S CLEAN
RUBBER GLOVES on your hands.) You can do it bare-handed if you' got tough skin.
Squeeze all juice out of filters after you knead, and throw em away.

Filter the remaining liquid into the quart jar. It will be necessary to this
several times to get that awful smelling oil out. The chemicals in the inhalers
have been bonded to the HCl, and the oils have been filtered off. Throw the filters
away.

Pour enough of the solution into a small bottle to fill it 1/3 full. Save any
leftover juice for the second batch.

Pour 1/4 teaspoon of the lye crystals into the bottle and agitate. Do this
carefully, as the mixture will become hot, and give off a gas. Repeat this step
until the mixture remains cloudy.

Fill the bottle from step (5) up the rest of the way with ether. Cap the bottle,
and agitate for about 8 minutes. It is very important to expose ever molecule of
the free-base to the ether for as long as possible.

Let the mixture settle. There will be a middle layer that is very thick. Tap the
side of the bottle to get this layer as thin as possible.

Remove the top layer with the eyedropper, being careful not to get any of the
middle layer in it. Save the top layer, and throw the rest away.

Fill a bottle half-way with water, and about 10 drops of acid. Pour the top layer
from step (8) into the bottle, and cap it. Shake the bottle for 2 minutes. When it
settles, remove the top layer and throw it away. The free base has now been bonded
to the HCl/water mixture.

If there is anything left from step (3), repeat the procedure with it.

Evaporate the solution in the Pyrex dish on low heat. You can do this o the stove,
but I have found that if you leave it on top of a hot-water heater (like the one
that supplies hot water to your house) for about 2-3 days, the remaining crystals
will be Methamphetamine.
Some notes:

Police are now calling this the "New Cocaine".

It is very easy to become delirious off the ether fumes, so be sure you are well
ventilated, I mean it!!!

Small, aspirin, or experiment bottles seem to work the best for smaller batches.
The measurements are not exact, so you don't have to be either.

notes In step 9, be sure you don't use too much water. Remember, this is the water
you have to use to evaporate.
==Phrack Inc.==
From: [email protected] (Admiral Hunter)

(WARNING!) This recipe is bogus! YOU WILL NOT HAVE METHAMPHETAMINE! You have simple
extracted pseudoephedrine! All this stuff will give you is engziety(sp?)...

There are better recipes out there but if you cant get your hands on sodium
borohydride and a reflux condenser then don't even mess with this recipe!

But the ETHER extraction method is as true today as it was then!

From: [email protected] (Speed Raver)

One, from Phrack magazine, is the "tried and true method" for prepping meth from
Vick's nasal inhalers. Vick's nasal inhalers contain "l-desoxyephedrine," another
name for "l-methamphetamine." The l- isomer of methamphetamine is the relatively
inactive one, usable as a (mild) nasal decongestant. The d- isomer is the one that
every one wants and that Uncle Sam has declared is just too cool for any one except
doctors.

The procedure described would extract the l-meth from the inhalers and collect it
and that's it. I'm sorry, but the Isomer Fairy can't wave her magick wand and
reverse the chirality of the molecule. The only way to change between the two
isomers is to oxidize the l-meth into phenylacetone, condense it with methylamine,
then reduce it. Sorry, but soaking inhalers in HCl then separating the "juice" with
Et2OH just won't do it. You'll get l-meth and that's that.
The same recipe (for extraction of l-isomer), reformulated:
List of chemicals and materials
Dilute HCl - also called Muriatic acid - can be obtained from hardware stores, in
the pool section.

NaOH - also called lye - can be obtained from supermarkets in the "drain cleaner"
section. "Red Devil Lye" recommended.

Ethyl Ether - aka Diethyl Ether - Et-0-Et - can be obtained from engine starting
fluid, usually from a large supermarket. Look for one that says "high ethyl ether
content", such as Prestone.

Desoxyephedrine - can be obtained from "VICKS" nasal inhalers. These are found at
any drug store or grocery, etc. They contain 50 mg of l-desoxyephedrin e per
container. Also known as methamphetamine. 6 containers will give 300 mg of l-
desoxyephedrine.

Distilled water - it's really cheap, so you have no reason to use the nasty stuff
from the tap. Do things right.
List of equipment
a glass eyedropper
three small glass bottles with lids (approx. 3 oz., but not important)
one should be marked at 1.5oz, use tape on the outside to mark it (you might want
to label it as ether)
one should be clear (and it can't be the marked one)
a Pyrex dish (the meatloaf one is suggested)
a glass quart jar
sharp scissors
clean rubber gloves
coffee filters
a measuring cup
measuring spoons
Preparing your reagents
Preparing Ethyl Ether

WARNINGS: Ethyl Ether is very flammable and is heavier than air. Do not use ethyl
ether near flame or non-sparkless motors. It is also an anaesthetic and can cause
respiratory collapse if you inhale too much.

Take the unmarked small bottle and spray starter fluid in it until it looks half-
full. Then fill the rest of the way with water, cap the bottle and shake for 5
minutes. Let it sit for a minute or two, and tap the side to try and separate the
clear upper layer. Then, draw off the top (ether) layer with the eyedropper, and
throw away the lower (water) and cloudy layer. Place the ether in the marked
container. Repeat this until you have about 1.5 oz. of ether. Put the cap on it,
and put it in the freezer if you can. Rinse the other bottle and let it stand.

Ethyl ether is very pungent. Even a small evaporated amount is quite noticeable.

Extracting l-desoxyephedrine
Break open the inhalers, a pair of real sharp scissors does this well. Place the
cottons that were inside in a bottle (the unmarked one) and close the lid. I use 6
cottons.

In the Pyrex dish, combine 2/3 oz. water and 1/3 oz. muriatic acid. Shred cottons
in this solution, and knead for 5 minutes with your gloves on. Squeeze all juice
out of filters after you knead, and discard them. This step bonds the HCl to the
meth, forming the HCl salt (what you want). The salt is soluble in water, and thus
dissolves.

Filter the remaining liquid into the quart jar. It will be necessary to this
several times to get the awful smelling oils (check the packaging if you are
interested in which ones). The chemicals in the inhalers have been bonded to the
HCl, and the oils have been filtered off. Discard the filters and clean the Pyrex
dish. Remember to wet the filters with distilled water before you pour, otherwise
you'll lose some product.

Pour enough of the solution into the clear bottle to fill it 1/3 full. Save any
leftover juice for the second batch.

Pour 1/8 teaspoon of the lye crystals into the bottle and agitate. Do this
carefully, as the mixture will become hot, and give off hydrogen gas and/or steam.
H2 gas is explosive and lighter than air; avoid any flames as usual. Repeat this
step until the mixture remains cloudy. This step neutralizes the HCl in the salt,
leaving the insoluble free base (l-desoxyephedrin e) again. Why do we do this? So
that we can get rid of any water-soluble impurities. For 3 oz. bottles, this should
take only 3 repetitions or so.

Fill the bottle from step 5 up the rest of the way with ethyl ether. Cap the
bottle, and agitate for about 8 minutes. It is very important to expose every
molecule of the free-base to the ether for as long as possible. This will cause the
free base to dissolve into the ether (it -is- soluble in ether).

Let the mixture settle. There will be a middle layer that is very thick. Tap the
side of the bottle to get this layer as thin as possible. This is why this bottle
should be clear.

Remove the top (ether) layer with the eyedropper, being careful not to get any of
the middle layer in it. Place the removed ether layer into a third bottle.

Add to the third bottle enough water to fill it half-way. and about 5 drops of
muriatic acid. Cap it. Shake the bottle for 2 minutes. When it settles, remove the
top layer and throw it away. The free base has now been bonded to the HCl again,
forming a water soluble salt. This time, we're getting rid of ether-soluble
impurities. Make sure to get rid of all the ether before going to step 11!

If there is anything left from step 3, repeat the procedure with it.

Evaporate the solution in the Pyrex dish on low heat. You can do this on the stove
or nuke it in the microwave (be careful of splashing), but I have found that if you
leave it on top of a hot-water heater (like the one that supplies hot water to your
house) for about 2-3 days, the remaining crystals will be Methamphetamine HCl.

If you microwave it, I suggest no more than 5-10s at one time. If it starts
"popping", that means you have too little liquid left to microwave. You can put it
under a bright (100W) lamp instead. Microwaving can result in uneven heating,
anyway.
First Batch: 120 mg Meth HCl
Estimated: 300 mg (100% of theoretical, disregarding HCl)

Estimated Cost of Material (in US dollars):

Ethyl Ether: $ 1.59
Inhalers: $19.73
Eyedroppers: $ 1.09
Pyrex dish: $ 3.92
Pyrex measuring cup: $ 2.55
Lye: $ 2.79
Catalytic Reduction
From: [email protected] (Speed Raver)

A more credible sounding one mentions that "methamphetamine is prepared by the

calalytic reduction of pseudoephedrine in acetic acid" blahblahblah and then goes
on to describe, not catalytic reduction via acetic acid, but reduction with sodium
borohydride. I'm sorry to say that no method attempting to directly reduce
(pseudo)ephedrine's hydroxyl group is going to work. You can't expose it to a
strong acid, or a weak acid, or sodium borohydride, or even lithium aluminum
hydride and expect it to reduce at all. As with the Vick's Inhalers "recipe," you
get a lot of SOMETHING, but it ain't d-meth. All you'll be left with is your
(pseudo)ephedrine and a bunch of acid, lithium, and/or sodium and lotsa hydrogen
gas. This is because the hydroxyl group (the OH in ephedrine) is on a very acidic
carbon (the first carbon away from the ring) and a hydroxyl group is very basic. If
the hydroxyl were on the second carbon from the ring (the carbon with the amine
group, the NH2 or NHCH3), there might be some chance, but it's not and there's not.
You're not getting a basic group off an acidic carbon without a fight, and acids,
borohydride, and LiAlhydride aren't gonna fight that hard.

From: [email protected] (Yogi Shan)

I'm sorry to say that no method attempting to directly reduce (pseudo)ephedrine's

hydroxyl group is going to work.

Your post was interesting, but this is not quite true. Direct hydrogenation over Pd
or Pd on a carrier is well known and facile. You add a little perchloric,
phosphoric or sulphuric acid, which esterifies the-OH group that you're complaining
about.

Thus making the intermediate halide via SOCl2, like you mentioned, is unnecessary.
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