My aunt has been addicted to meth (speed, crank) for the past several years and I want to know, what the heck is it made of? Who came up with the idea of making a drug to keep you awake all the time? Why in the world would someone want to? (I am a sleep deprived new mamma, and it is beyond me.) What is addicting in it? Has anyone seen the Meth commercial? (I live in WA and I have seen it several times). Please put an end to these questions.
The Stranger, a cool Seattle newspaper, just did a feature on meth called The Crystal Cockroach.
In it is a pretty good explanation of what meth is made of, and how it’s made. Not enough info to actually make the stuff, though.
Methamphetamine is a derivative of amphetamine. These amine drugs are a whole class of chemicals that have a similar structure with similar properties, and the amine drugs have stimulant properties.
Amphetamine is available by prescription. Chemically, methamphetamine differs from amphetamine by a single methyl group, hence the meth- prefix. Specifically, a single -H (hydrogen atom)on the amphetamine molecule is replaced with a -CH3 (methyl group). This simple substitution makes methamphetamine act 10-100 times more strongly on the body.
You can assume then, that it would take 10-100 simultaneous doses of the prescription to roughly equate to a single dose of methamphetamine.
Wait a minute. Yesterday you had one month left to serve in the Navy. Did they change the regulations?