# Was Formula 409 used in making illicit drugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781 "2016-03-31T21:16:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/1 "2016-03-31T21:16:59Z")
Was [Formula 409](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_409) used in the manufacture of illicit drugs? Decades ago we contracted with a small cleaning service that insisted upon ridiculous quantities of Formula 409 be kept on the propriety. It seemed to have been consumed. Then one day the wife came upon them unexpectedly and they were removing 409 from the building. We wondered, why bother. The contract was not renewed. decades passed. Then it occurred to me that they could have been taking the 409 for illegal use and did not want a paper trail. Comments? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/2 "2016-03-31T21:29:47Z")
Formula 409 contains ethanolamines, which are used in certain drugs to shrink veins and arteries, but not for getting high. Most likely, your cleaning crew was using your supply of 409 at other cleaning jobs, reducing their costs. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/3 "2016-03-31T22:03:10Z")
Random Trivia Note: The name of Formula 409 was purportedly chosen as it was the 409th compound tested by the inventors. Other brand names with similar origins are [WD-40](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40) and [666 Cough Syrup.](http://www.deuceofclubs.com/write/666.htm) Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/4 "2016-04-01T06:12:42Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Most likely, your cleaning crew was using your supply of 409 at other cleaning jobs, reducing their costs. Who supplied and paid for all that F-409 in the first place? Did it belong to the cleaning company all along? (If so, sounds like what **Omar Little** says; they were just using OP’s office space as a convenient storage closet.) Or did OP’s company pay for, and thus own, it all? (If so, then it sounds like outright theft/fraud.) Or maybe, as OP says, it was being consumed. I wonder if it went better with steak or chicken? ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/5 "2016-04-01T11:49:26Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Random Trivia Note: The name of Formula 409 was purportedly chosen as it was the 409th compound tested by the inventors. Other brand names with similar origins are [WD-40](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40) and [666 Cough Syrup.](http://www.deuceofclubs.com/write/666.htm) > > Carry on. Does the Devil get 2cents on every bottle sold? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/6 "2016-04-01T16:58:33Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Who supplied and paid for all that F-409 in the first place? Did it belong to the cleaning company all along? (If so, sounds like what **Omar Little** says; they were just using OP’s office space as a convenient storage closet.) Or did OP’s company pay for, and thus own, it all? (If so, then it sounds like outright theft/fraud.) > > Or maybe, as OP says, it was being consumed. I wonder if it went better with steak or chicken? Good question. There are three obvious possibilities: 1. Straight-up theft/financial scam: The contractor was scamming the OP’s company by getting it to buy large quantities of 409 with the understanding that it was for use only at and for the OP’s company’s facilities, but the contractor was actually diverting it for its own use (as a cleanser). 2. Underhanded way to gain extra storage space: The contractor was short on space and wanted to store some of their vast stocks of cleaning supplies in the OP’s company’s facility. The contractor was buying the stuff themselves and there was never a question over ownership. 3. Straw-man purchase: The contractor was using the OP’s company as a “straw man” in order to acquire large quantities of 409 while staying off of a watchlist of some kind. The problem with this is that I’ve never heard of 409 being associated with suspicious activity. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/7 "2016-04-01T18:30:51Z")
I will view my under-the-sink bottle of 409 with new respect, now that I know it’s an international product of mystery involved in a secret plot. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/8 "2016-04-01T20:44:24Z")
> [@Green Day](#): > > I sit in the state of a daydream > With all of your words flying over my head > Even more time gets wasted > In a daze I don’t _think_ it’s about drugs, but you never know ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/9 "2016-04-04T23:25:38Z")
From above. This was the situation. > [@](#): > > 1. Straight-up theft/financial scam: The contractor was scamming the OP’s company by getting it to buy large quantities of 409 with the understanding that it was for use only at and for the OP’s company’s facilities, but the contractor was actually diverting it for [_something_] ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-formula-409-used-in-making-illicit-drugs/750781/10 "2016-04-05T00:20:34Z")
I can categorically state that Formula 401 was never _ever_ used in the manufacture of illegal drugs. Because if it had been, my old roommate back in West Texas would have been all over it, and that’s a fact.