How & Where Meth Is Manufactured

The principal chemicals are phenyl-2-propanone, aluminum, methylamine, and mercuric acid. This method yields lower quality methamphetamine and has often been associated with outlaw motorcycle gangs. P2P is now strictly controlled and usually results in a poorer grade of meth.

This procedure is encountered much more rarely, but turns up from time to time. It's an expensive method of production that's most commonly used in South Asian labs and most recently, this type of lab was discovered in Australia. Here, ephedrine or pseudoephedrine is mixed with a variety of chemicals and then placed in a pressurized chamber to which hydrogen gas is added to 40-60 p.s.i. After a few other steps (which we won't mention) the finished result (if you intend it to be) is pure crystal methamphetamine, or "ice." While this method takes a lot of know-how and some pretty sophisticated premises and equipment, large amounts of meth can be made. The South-east Asian labs of this type can easily produce 500 kilograms a week. In case you're wondering, 500 kilograms of crystal meth will render almost five million individual doses. (calculated with the assumption that a street dose or "point" is 100mg.)

This type of lab, (also known as a "meth break-down" house) is the final step in the meth production process. It's here that meth is (among other things) converted to crystal meth, cleaned, packaged for distribution, or "stepped on." (see next paragraph) This typically involves "washing" the meth with acetone to remove impurities and bring its "finished" color from shades of brownish orange to yellow and ultimately to white. The more time spent washing the meth, the whiter it will be and among users, whiter is considered better.

Conversion labs are also where methamphetamine is often brought in and "stepped on" or diluted. Basically, this is a way of increasing profits without actually producing more meth, or having more meth imported. Sometimes the original product will be stepped on to the extent that purity drops from the 90% range to as low as the 35-40% range. In many areas where law enforcement has been particularly vigilant and successful at interdiction, conversion labs are increasingly more common, but most still fly "under the radar" so to speak.

While some "conversion labs" are specifically used for turning powder meth to crystal or ice form, some have no actual manufacturing or cooking going on, they're just used for re-packaging. As a result, these locations can be located virtually anywhere and usually go undetected. Not that long ago, in response to what they expected to be a domestic call, police in the state of Georgia discovered one such "break-down" house and seized 51,306 ounces or approximately 3,206 pounds.of methamphetamine. If the reported amount seized is accurate, that translates to over fourteen and a half million "points" or street doses of meth! (calculated assuming a "point" at 100mg.)

Ultimately, meth can be crystallized into the smokable form known as "crystal," "ice," or "quartz," among many other street names. Ice is created by dissolving methamphetamine into water and various solvents. Heat is then applied to supersaturate the solution with methamphetamine. Once the solution is removed from heat and allowed to cool, the methamphetamine begins to form large, translucent crystals that resemble old-fashioned rock candy. If the original powder was of high quality, the resulting crystals or "ice" will result in exceptionally pure methamphetamine suitable for smoking.

Hawaii was one of the first locales to see distribution and abuse of crystal meth, but now it's widespread. In fact, in most regions of the U.S. and Canada, as "mom and pop" meth labs are shut down as supply sources for powder meth, the gap is filled proportionately with purer crystal meth. Mexico, Asia and The Philippines, China and even North Korea are all heavily implicated in the production, export and distribution of crystal meth and/or bulk precursors.

On the next page, we'll look at the types and purities of meth, as well as the geographic "meth hotspots" within North America where meth is most prevalent.