Methamphetamine Synthesis Case Study

Question 1.

Please write more about what step in methamphetamine production this exhibit might be from. What would you expect to be in the solid portion, what would you expect to be in the liquid portion? What might be the circumstances where you would find this type of exhibit? What would be the next steps in methamphetamine production, what other exhibits might you see if this were part of a clan lab?

The illicit methamphetamine production by the Hydriodic Acid and Red Phosphorus Reduction method use ephedrine and pseudoephedrine obtained by the extraction from cold medications. The tablets are crushed and the pseudoephedrine or ephedrine is extracted by soaking in acetone, denatured alcohol, or other solvents. It is expected to have the active ingredients ephedrine or pseudoephedrine in the liquid portion and the inactive …show more content…
The extracted ephedrine is added to a mixture of iodine and red phosphorus. Red phosphorus is mixed with iodine to produce hydriodic acid. Hydriodic acid reduces ephedrine to methamphetamine. Matchbook striker plates contain about 40% red phosphorus. An investigator may see matches with the striker plate removed, a jar of striker plates in solution and/or a Ziploc bag filled with recycled red phosphorus from the previous meth cook.
b. The mixture is slowly boiled for 5-8 hours. After cooling, the mixture is filtered to remove any remaining red phosphorus that was not consumed in the reduction process.
c. Sodium hydroxide or Red Devil lye is added to the filtered solution to make it strongly alkaline. Heat is generated and the methamphetamine freebase forms a separate layer on top of the water.
d. A solvent is added to extract the layer of freebase methamphetamine. The freebase methamphetamine mixes with the solvent forming an oily layer which is carefully poured into another container. Some common solvents seen at a clan lab are Coleman fuel, Freon, mineral spirits and

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