A look at how the separation and identification of pseudoephedrine from illegal drug mixtures can help to identify the sources and the manufacturing pathway of methamphetamine seized in the illicit market.

Methamphetamine (commonly known as "meth") is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that can irrevocably damage people, families, and communities. A Schedule II controlled substance, it is a white, bitter-tasting powder that can be snorted, injected, smoked, or dissolved in water or alcohol. As with most long-term hard drug use, chronic meth abuse quite literally rots the body and the brain. It causes aggression and violence, psychotic behavior, memory loss, heart damage, severe dental problems, and malnutrition, not to mention the increased transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis among users, and a variety of knock-on social effects including crime and unemployment.

Worryingly, meth production and abuse in the United States is on the rise; what was once a problem limited to Hawaii and western parts of the United States is now spreading eastwards to both rural and urban areas.¹ According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 10.4 million people aged 12 or older—4.3% of the population—have tried meth at least once. Approximately 1.3 million reported using meth in the past year, and 512,000 reported current (past-month) use. In 1998, meth abuse contributed to nearly 500 deaths. And between 1995 and 2002 there was a 50% increase in the number of emergency department visits linked to meth abuse, with a total of 73,000 meth-related emergency visits (4% of all drug-related visits) in 2004.¹

Of the 1,490 clandestine drug synthesis laboratories seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2001, 97% of them were being used to make meth.² While most of the meth in the United States comes from foreign or domestic "superlabs" that are concentrated in southern California and Mexico, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of mom-and-pop outfits run by amateur meth "cooks" out of garages and homes. The DEA reported that in 2001 over 7,700 laboratories had meth-producing capacities of less than ten pounds.³ These home-made laboratories pose dangerous risks not only to those running them, but also to neighbors and the environment. Because the chemicals involved are highly toxic and the gases produced very flammable, the manufacturing processes pose substantial risks of explosions, fires, chemical burns, and toxic fume inhalation. For every pound of meth that is produced, about five to seven pounds of toxic waste are generated, most of which is dumped into rivers, fields, and sewage systems. In California alone, the clean up of more than 2,000 meth laboratories and dumpsites in 2001 cost nearly $5.5 million.⁴

The Pseudoephedrine Problem
Key to the illegal manufacture of meth are pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, both List I chemicals, which are commonly used as decongestants in over-the-counter cough, cold, and allergy medicines. Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine are similar in structure to amphetamine and methamphetamine and can be reduced to these compounds relatively easily; as such they are highly coveted by drug traffickers. In fact, the diversion of over-the-counter pseudoephedrine-containing products is one of the major contributing factors to the meth situation in the United States.

Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and sulfate salts are found in cold and allergy medicines as single-ingredient preparations or, more commonly, in combination with antihistamines, naproxen, paracetamol (acetaminophen), and/or ibuprofen. Typically a meth cook extracts pseudoephedrine by placing the over-the-counter product in a solution of water, alcohol, or another solvent for several hours and then converts it to high-quality meth using a variety of common household products and equipment. For drug enforcement agencies to get to the root of this production chain, they need to be able to identify the exact sources and manufacturing pathways of meth seized from clandestine laboratories. Crucial to this effort is the accurate separation and identification of pseudoephedrine from illegal drug mixtures and in particular from the meth group compounds including amphetamine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxy-Nmethamphetamine (3,4-MDMA).