# crystal meth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110 "2011-11-06T23:06:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/1 "2011-11-06T23:06:39Z")
I was watching a documentary on crystal meth, and apparently, the recipe is fairly easy to find on the web. So many people are able to create this mind altering drug on their own if they so choose, to use. sell or both. But apparently the recipe uses some toxic materials… poisons to human beings. (I don’t know the recipe other than what was mentioned on the show, and hesitate to give details out here). My question is, how did people figure out how to make crystal meth in the first place? Was it an accident brewed up by someone trying to create something else? Or was it done on purpose, maybe by a chemist, for the purpose of getting high? How did meth heads figure out how to make the stuff? And once made, how did they figure out how to take it without killong themselves? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/2 "2011-11-06T23:13:40Z")
I heard/read somewhere that methamphetamine was first created by German (Nazi?) scientists in the 1930’s as a cheap and easy way to give combat soldiers an energy boost, but I don’t know if this is just an Urban Legend or if it is actually factual. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/3 "2011-11-06T23:18:57Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I heard/read somewhere that methamphetamine was first created by German (Nazi?) scientists in the 1930’s as a cheap and easy way to give combat soldiers an energy boost, but I don’t know if this is just an Urban Legend or if it is actually factual. > **[Methamphetamine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine#History)** > > Methamphetamine\[note 1\] (contracted from N-methylamphetamine) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational or performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It has also been researched as a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury. Methamphetamine was discovered in 1893 and exists as two enantiomers: levo-methamphetamine and dextro-methamphetamine.\[note 2\] Methamp > [@](#): > > Methamphetamine was first synthesized from [ephedrine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedrine) in Japan in 1893 by [chemist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemist) [Nagai Nagayoshi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagai_Nagayoshi) (…) In 1919, crystallized methamphetamine was synthesized by [Akira Ogata](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Ogata) via [reduction](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redox) of [ephedrine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephedrine) using red [phosphorus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorus) and [iodine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine). > [@](#): > > One of the earliest uses of methamphetamine was during [World War II](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II), when it was used by Axis and Allied forces. The German and Finnish militaries dispensed it under the trademark name Pervitin. It was widely distributed across rank and division, from elite forces to tank crews and aircraft personnel, with many millions of tablets being distributed throughout the war. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/4 "2011-11-06T23:38:33Z")
It’s a simple structure that’s part of a vast family of psychoactive molecules called the phenethylamines, many of which are natural products (methamphetamine is not found naturally IIRC). Research on the psychotropic effects of these molecules is very old. The simplicity of the structure accounts for its accessibility by amateur chemists using rudimentary procedures. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/5 "2011-11-07T01:25:00Z")
> [@Busy\_Scissors](#): > > It’s a simple structure that’s part of a vast family of psychoactive molecules called the phenethylamines, many of which are natural products (methamphetamine is not found naturally IIRC). Research on the psychotropic effects of these molecules is very old. The simplicity of the structure accounts for its accessibility by amateur chemists using rudimentary procedures. I don’t know about this. Yes, the molecules have been around for a while. but would an amateur chemist be able to take a derivative of crystal meth off the pharma shelf and know how to add the correct chemicals from fertilizer? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/6 "2011-11-07T03:53:10Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I don’t know about this. Yes, the molecules have been around for a while. but would an amateur chemist be able to take a derivative of crystal meth off the pharma shelf and know how to add the correct chemicals from fertilizer? Depending on how skilled the chemist is, they could either figure out what molecules they need and, given a set of ingredients, figure out what reactions will get them there, or they could just follow a recipe like the ones you mentioned in the OP. You’re really asking about drug research, which is a big topic but it all comes down to the fact similar substances often have similar effects (which is where we get the idea for where to start), and we know reactions which will do specific things to specific kinds of ingredients. Think about it like cooking: To make bread, you know you need some kind of flour, water, possibly leavening agents, and often flavoring as well. You can follow a pre-written recipe, or you can look around and see what you can make a ‘flour’ out of, what leavening agents you have on hand (the most difficult things to get hold of, and why unleavened bread is historically so popular), and what flavorings you can get and would enjoy eating. When you think about things in terms of _properties_, all kinds of new horizons open up. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/7 "2011-11-07T04:39:57Z")
There are many, many different amphetamines, some of which have been known to medicine for decades and many of which have effects that are not identical to crystal meth but are plenty close enough for an addict’s taste. Crystal meth happens to be comparatively easy to synthesize from readily purchased ingredients by people who are not professional chemists. Had a different form of amphetamine been easier to synthesize, we’d probably worry about addicts cooking that in storage units. In the beginning, some addict with a chemistry background probably calculated how to synthesize it easily, and the technique spread from there, with additions and modifications added by amateurs with lucky guesses that didn’t kill them, and professional chemists hired by drug cartels who derived ever-easier ways to synthesize crystal meth or a very similar product. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/8 "2011-11-07T05:20:22Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know about this. Yes, the molecules have been around for a while. but would an amateur chemist be able to take a derivative of crystal meth off the pharma shelf and know how to add the correct chemicals from fertilizer? An undergraduate degree that includes substantial coursework in inorganic and organic chemistry would be all that is required. The hard part would be finding cheap/easily available precursors/reagents to make your product. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/9 "2011-11-07T05:46:13Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > But apparently the recipe uses some toxic materials… poisons to human beings. yeah, well, an explosively reactive metal and a highly toxic gas might sound like things you’d want to avoid, but together they form something essential to life… e.g. salt. no, I’m not saying that meth is great and all. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/10 "2011-11-07T05:48:11Z")
Yes, but how can I make it blue!? ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/11 "2011-11-07T06:07:06Z")
Kind of a highjack but, could someone make meth out of the Ephedra plant, “Mormon tea”? If so than the precursor to cooking meth would be Native Americans about 5000 years ago, similar to cocaine and the Coca plant. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/12 "2011-11-07T06:20:06Z")
Amphetamines were not only used by the troops during WW2, but supposedly Hitler was addicted to injected meth, administered by his personal physician. I was told by a concentration camp survivor that the camp inmates were fed bread made with sawdust, and drugs to provide “artificial energy” so they could perform labor. The “chemists” who operate meth labs today don’t really CARE about the dangerous/poisonous substances involved in the manufacturing process. Often the clandestine labs are set up in private homes, with the entire family exposed to the threat. Arresting officers have found lab products in the kitchen next to the food in the refrigerator. Children in homes where meth has been manufactured are placed in a special category in the Social Services system. They are tested repeatedly to monitor the levels of meth and toxic byproducts in their bodies, which are the results of simple exposure. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/13 "2011-11-07T06:43:20Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Yes, but how can I make it blue!? Well, the easiest way is to steal a barrel of [phenylacetic acid.](http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Blue_Sky) It’s heavy, so bring a friend. Of course, you could always just roll it… ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crystal-meth/602110/14 "2011-11-07T09:18:15Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Well, the easiest way is to steal a barrel of [phenylacetic acid.](http://breakingbad.wikia.com/wiki/Blue_Sky) It’s heavy, so bring a friend. Of course, you could always just roll it… Apparently life imitates art. Real blue meth has been seen on the streets but there isn’t any chemical process involved in making meth (especially particularly potent meth) that would turn it blue. So the speculation is that cooks are adding blue dyes just so they can market it as “blue meth just like on breaking bad”… > **[(U//LES) El Paso Intelligece Center: Blue Methamphetamine Report | Public...](http://publicintelligence.net/el-paso-intelligece-center-blue-methamphetamine-report/)** > > A new type of crystal methamphetamine with a blue color tint is surfacing sporadically in the United States, primarily in California, Washington, and Texas. This substance, known as “blue meth” or