P2P does make both, so you have to either separate them later, or sell the racemic product (the mix of the two isomers). The ephedrine method of making meth is stereospecific, meaning that it doesn’t make both isomers as a product. Meth “purity” refers to the proportion of D to L in a sample. D -methamphetamine is what produces the psychoactive effects L -methamphetamine is a byproduct. Methamphetamine, for example, can exist in a D (dextro) form or in a mirror-image L (levo) form. Rather, it refers to the molecular structure of the meth itself.Ĭertain molecules can accommodate slight variations in the ways their atoms and bonds are arranged while still being the same molecule-a feature called isomerism.
It doesn’t refer to whether adulterants like fentanyl are present in a sample of meth. But “purity” means something different for meth than it does for drugs like heroin, cocaine or pressed pills. P2P-derived meth was usually assumed to be lower quality than ephedrine-derived meth, meaning less pure. It’s easier to paint a drug as “sinister” if you don’t mention that there’s an FDA-approved prescription form. From there, a simple reductive amination reaction produces methamphetamine. Production relied on phenylacetic acid and acetic acid, using a thorium dioxide catalyst. It emerged in the 1970s after the rescheduling of amphetamine-from Schedule III, as it orginally was under the Controlled Substances Act, up to the more highly restricted Schedule II category-created a void in the market. “New meth” refers to meth derived from phenyl-2-propanone, more commonly known as P2P. When the broader public thinks of meth, they’re probably thinking of meth derived from pseudoephedrine (Sudafed). The only difference is the production method, of which there are several. It began to create mental illness as it marched across the country.”Īll meth actually has the same chemical makeup. “You began to speak babbling, what they call ‘word salad’ in psychology. “It was a very sinister drug,” Quinones told EconTalk of “new meth” when promoting his book, from which the Atlantic article was adapted. These references don’t come from a rich diversity of sources, but tend to trace back to a single source: a 2021 Atlantic article by Sam Quinones. If you’ve ever seen someone talk about “new meth” online, they were probably describing how it explained some aspect of society-encampments, mental illness-that they found distasteful.
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