Crystal Meth
The creation of methamphetamine, although everyday household materials are used, can be very dangerous if done improperly. Many of the ingredients of crystal meth are flammable and/or combustible, making it very possible that a life threatening accident will occur. There have been several cases of methamphetamine labs exploding, causing injury or death to people that were in the near vicinity. Crystal meth is a horribly addictive drug that can ruin lives and attempting to synthesize it can cause a life altering (or ending) accident, but having some familiarity with how to make methamphetamine is very important. People will be trying to make crystal meth even if they know that it is dangerous, so if they are going to do it, you should know the ingredients, tools, and process used so you can tell if someone you know is trying to create this drug. Below is a step by step guide for making methamphetamine.
1. The ingredients used for methamphetamine are ephedrine (or pseudoephedrine), iodine, ether, sodium hydroxide, red phosphorus, and hydrochloric acid. Tools that will be needed are plastic jars with lids, coffee filters, an eyedropper, a funnel, and a coffee pot.
2. You start by taking Sudafed (which has pseudoephedrine as its active ingredient) and crush it into a powder. The powder is then dissolved into the ether and then coffee filters are used to separate the liquid from a white sludgy material (which is thrown out). After being evaporated in a coffee pot, what remains is a pure form of pseudoephedrine, which is close to crystal meth by itself.
3. Your new solution will then be cooked for several hours with red phosphorus, iodine, and hydrochloric acid. After the mixture is cooled down, it is once again filtered and then made into a base using sodium hydroxide. Ether is used for a second time as a solvent, and after evaporating the ether, methamphetamine is left. All that is left now is making the methamphetamine into crystals, which is why it is called crystal meth.
4. Crystal meth is then created by bubbling hydrochloric acid gas into the container that has the methamphetamine inside. This material is then filtered for a last time, and the crystals collect on the filter itself. You know have crystal meth in your possession.
If you see anybody performing these actions or using these materials, it is very likely that they are making crystal meth. Methamphetamine has been known to destroy families and ruin lives, so if you have an inkling that crystal meth is being created, alert the authorities as soon as possible. You can help to loosen the stranglehold that methamphetamine has on American society.