Clandestine Methamphetamine Manufacturing: Understanding Lab Reports

Presenter

• Edward G. Brown, Ph.D.
• Browns Chemistry Services
• Contact: [email protected]

Main Topics

1. Methods of Meth Synthesis
2. Understanding Lab Reports and Chemical Evidence Lists
3. Errors Made by Forensic Labs

Methods of Methamphetamine Synthesis

Two Primary Routes for Synthesis in the USA

A) Pseudoephedrine Route

• Precursor: Sudafed from drug store
• Reducing Agents: Hydrogen or hydrogen iodide and red phosphorus
• Substances Found in Labs Using This Route:
  • Pseudoephedrine or ephedrine
  • Hydrogen iodide and red phosphorus
  • Metal catalysts (palladium, platinum, rhodium)
  • Hydrochloric acid
  • Organic solvents (ether, benzene, chloroform, kerosene)
  • Lye or washing soda

B) Phenyl Acetone Route

• Precursors: Phenyl acetone (P2P), methyl amine, reducing agents
• Substances Found in Labs Using This Route:
  • Phenyl acetone
  • Methyl amine or methyl amine hydrochloride
  • Formaldehyde, ammonia
  • Hydrochloric acid
  • Aluminum foil, mercuric chloride
  • Organic solvents (ether, benzene, chloroform, kerosene)
  • Lye or washing soda
• Additional Substances for Phenyl Acetone Synthesis:
  • Magnesium turnings
  • Benzyl chloride or bromide
  • Sodium cyanide or acetic anhydride
  • Ether or tetrahydrofuran
  • Phenylacetic acid and thorium oxide

Similarities and Differences Between the Two Methods

• Phenyl Acetone/Methyl Amine:
  • Requires phenyl acetone, methyl amine, reducing agent (e.g., aluminum amalgam)
  • Produces a 50:50 mixture of d- and l-isomers
• Ephedrine/Pseudoephedrine Route:
  • Requires ephedrine/pseudoephedrine and reducing agent (e.g., red phosphorus, hydrogen iodide)
  • Produces only the d-isomer
• Common Purification Process:
  • Use of acids (hydrochloric/sulfuric acid), bases (lye/washing soda), and solvents (toluene, kerosene)

Waste Products

• Both methods generate chemical waste: acidic water, basic water, waste solvents
• Some filter papers may be contaminated with methamphetamine.

Understanding Lab Reports and Chemical Evidence Lists

Key Documents in Discovery Evidence

• Summary Chemical Analysis Report: States if controlled substances are detected.
• Police Property Report: Lists evidence samples, weights, and locations.
• Important Additional Documents:
  • Laboratory Notebook: Analyst's hand-written test records
  • GCMS, LCMS, FTIR Printouts: Machine analyses
  • Other Chemical Test Records
  • Standard Operating Procedures: Verification of procedure adherence

Errors and Incorrect Assumptions in Forensic Labs

Common Analytical Testing Tools

• Presumptive Tests: Initial analysis to indicate possible substances
• Confirmatory Tests: More detailed, expensive to confirm substance presence (e.g., GCMS, LCMS, IR Spectroscopy)

Assumption Errors

• Reliance on labels for chemical identity
• Failure to perform confirmatory tests
• Combining multiple samples for one test leading to erroneous assumptions about individual samples

GCMS Errors

• Lack of blank sample testing before client's sample
• Potential cross-contamination and retention time variations
• Possibility of methamphetamine decomposing from pseudoephedrine under certain conditions

Summary of Analytical Section

• Chemists utilize presumptive and confirmatory tests.
• Presumptive tests can give false positives and are not definitive.
• Confirmatory tests are required for conclusive evidence but can still have inaccuracies.
• Defense experts can identify potential errors or alternative interpretations of lab results.