Wal-Mart has these signs at the checkout counters that say, “We reserve the right to limit quantities of cold remedies”, and somebody told me that that’s because drug dealers :eek: can use over-the-counter cold medicines like Comtrex to make methamphetamines in their basement or something. Is that true? If so, wouldn’t that be rather economically unfeasible, to depend for your raw materials on sending your girlfriend down to Wal-Mart to get 50 packs of Day-Quil? Wouldn’t it be better to get the stuff wholesale, from a supplier? It was my understanding that the thing about running a meths lab was that it uses commonly available industrial ingredients. So is Wal-Mart just being terribly PC, or is there something to this?
Ah, yes. I actually worked as a stockman at Wal-Mart for eighteen months, and this is true, believe it or not. In Illinois, at least, it’s illegal to sell someone more than six boxes of certain medicines (antihistamines, if I recall correctly) because they’re a major ingredient in methamphetamine production. So at Wal-Mart, we’d have a guy come in, buy six boxes, and come back an hour later to buy six more. Not the brightest crayon in the box, if you get my meaning.
Also, they’d shoplift lithium batteries, as those are apparently used in the process, too.
(Also, this is why these medicines are coming in bottles now that only dispense one pill at a time, instead of just being able to twist the lid off and dump 'em all out. Meant to make it less convenient for the Bad Guys.)
Oh yeah. Like a hammer won’t solve that problem.
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I thought when I heard that. Still, though, that’s what I was told.
I’d just like to drop in and express my complete confidence that future posters to this thread will follow the fine example set by the first few participants and not post directions on how to manufacture illegal substances.
Oh, Manhattan, you’re no fun anymore!
Yes, my question was only “whether such a thing was possible”, not “how is it done”. Frankly, I thought the whole thing sounded like some kind of PC Urban Legend thing, “well, we think that drug dealers MIGHT use this stuff to make meth.” Still have a hard time believing it, but if it’s the Straight Dope, then it must be true.
Also, ProblemForce, now I wanna know, wasn’t it incumbent upon Wal-Mart employees to stop this guy, if they knew he’d just been in and bought 6 boxes? What were they supposed to do, call 911 or something?
Basically, yeah. As the lowly stockman, it was my job to take off my Wal-Mart vest and shadow the guy out to the parking lot to write down his license plate. Then we’d call the cops. I understand the local police actually busted a couple of meth labs thanks to that kind of thing.
[slighthijack]
A problem along these same lines, is DXM (dextramethorphan). It’s the active ingredient of most cough medicines. These crazy kids today, what there doing is drinking large amounts of this stuff for the psychedelic effects this stuff yields. Pretty dangerous stunt, too, as I’m sure you can imagine. I’ve seen it in the news maybe once. I guess it’s not that big of a problem, yet. Do a little web search, and you’ll get the scoop.
[/slighthijack]
That was ok, wasn’t it Manhattan?
©
Yes, this is true. You’re right, it is pretty unrealistic to think of a meth manufacturer buying 50 boxes of Sudafed. Usually, it’s simpler to stick them in a backpack and walk out with them, along with lithium batteries and coffee filters. (note to moderator: random ingredients, but no directions. Hell, I don’t even know how to make the vile stuff. I just worked store security, and I know what they stole.)
As for the narrow necked bottles, I think that was more of a child safety thing than trying to stop meth homebrewers. Otherwise…geez. What a horribly ineffective solution.
Yes, its possible to do so & no I won’t say how to do so…plus you can’t buy from a supplier without a permit…
I lived in SEMO (Southeast Missouri) for 7 years, and around my last year there (1998), there was a huge increase in meth lab convictions. People were mixing huge amounts in bathtubs and sinks. Thing is, the residue is so toxic it takes trained HazMat teams in full gear to clean it up. I know the effects of methamphetamines (extreme agitation, restlessness, psychosis, pretty severe brain damage, hallucinations, etc., even after just one dose) and I know how many toxins are used in its creation (Think Draino. Think rat poison. Think massive quantities of stuff so vile and volatile it takes the aforementioned HazMat teams to clean it up.) The problem got so bad the sheriff’s office had to institute a full-time meth unit. Yes, a unit dedicated to investigating, arresting, and arranging for the cleanup of meth-related crimes. Every day there was a small-time bust (mom + pop outfit) and at least weekly there was a larger supplier being arrested. The ‘Law of the Hydra’ prevailed, making 7 new ones sprout for every 1 caught (The Hydra was an ancient beast Heracles killed. For every head Heracles chopped off, 7 grew in its place.) Frustrating. Maddening. Glad I moved.
OK, so the next logical question is, since Handy says you can’t get the raw materials from a supplier without a license, where were all those Missouri meth labs getting it from? Wal-Mart?
P.S. I live in Illinois and I do vaguely remember hearing about all that.
Well, Chandeleur, I do thank you for the hijack, because you just fought a little more of MY ignorance. The minute you said, “Dextromethorphan…teens!” I thought, “Uh-oh, it’s Urban Legend time.” But I put it into Google and was practically buried by the avalanche of serious medical cites. Golly. 
Naww, its not at all dangerous unless you buy medicine that has other active ingrediants other than DXM those are the ones that kill you in large doses. DXM must be the only active ingrediant in it, in Canada you can buy it in pill form so you don’t have to chug awful cough medicine. You could find the DXM faq someplace for recommended dosages.
As to the censorship threats on this board: The more you censor information about the safe manufacture of drugs, be it illegal or legal, the more people will try to create them using the unsafe and easy to get info. Sure drugs kill, but nothing kills better than ignorance. Making the assumption that removing the infomration will stop all drug abuse is too unbelievably stupid for me to take seriously.
Though I’m sure the moderators care more about avoiding lawsuits than anything else.
Chandeleur
I tried the DXM thing once. That was a freaky trip that I vowed never to try again. However, some others in my circle at the time kept doing it night after night. Hate to think what happened to them.
Derleth, where in SEMO? I lived in West Plains for 2 years shudder. Glad to hear you made it out alive 
DuckDuck Goose, the answer to your question is: Yeah, at least in part. I was sicker than a dog on one of my southern Missouri high school’s Quiz Bowl trips with a sinus problem, and we stopped in at Wal-Mart so I could pick up some medication. Did not happen, though. As I was under the age of 18 and not accompanied by a parent, I could not buy Sudafed. (We later found a lenient gas station.)
To answer the OP, ephedrine is commonly found in many cold/decongestant products. This is the desired drug and one of the key ingredients used in the procedure to produce methamphetamines. I’d tell you how to make it, but I don’t feel it suitable to say here. If you want information on how meth is cooked up (or how to make it), there is plenty on the internet.
by “Uncle Fester” gives specifics on how to make meth from common cold medicine found at Walmart and any other store. It’s actually quite simple, but man, that stuff is dangerous to use! Better off sticking with fake pot that get’s you high but is legal, right DDG?
Minor side note here, I work part time at Wal-mart. The store also limits the amount of powdered baby formula people can buy at one time to 6 cans. When I asked about this, the store manager told me that aside from not letting one person clean us out, (and then resell at a higher rate), they wanted to make it harder for drug dealers who use the formula to ‘cut’ the drugs they are selling. Again, as was already pointed out above, this isn’t really going to stop anyone who is determined, but it shouldn’t be a hardship for the rest of us.
“Made with real powdered babys”