Monitoring methamphetamine in the United States: A two‐decade review as seen by the DEA methamphetamine profiling program

Toske, Steven G.; McKibben, Tim D.

doi:10.1002/dta.3186

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The focus here is on these two starting materials, setting aside industrial precursors that can result in a kilogram of pure methamphetamine using as little as a 1.5 kg of ephedrines under theoretically optimal conditions [27]. Estimating inputs needed takes on the following equation: E: [24,25] CM: [18,19] Yield rate from ephedrine and pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine 50%-67% 50%-67% Information to date suggest that producers in Afghanistan use the Nagai method for synthesis [12,19,26] Abbreviations: CM, cold medications; E, ephedra.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the amount of inputs needed for methamphetamine manufacture in Afghanistan

Pardo,

Nobajas Ganau,

Zeiler

2024

Addiction

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background and aimsThe use and manufacture of methamphetamine has increased in Afghanistan in recent years. Recent research and reports have pointed to the ephedra plant, which grows wildly, as a key source of ephedrine used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. This paper aimed to estimate the relative efficiencies and scale of inputs required to manufacture methamphetamine in Afghanistan.MethodsMonte Carlo simulations model of the amount of ephedra or cold medications needed to render a pure kilogram of methamphetamine in Afghanistan, accounting for uncertainty in ranges of key parameters informed from the literature and elsewhere. Final estimates were extrapolated to recent seizure totals.ResultsFor dried ephedra, the median estimate is 196.8 kg (25th–75th percentiles 119.3–346.6 kg) needed to produce 1 kg of methamphetamine compared with 27.9 kg (25th–75th percentiles 21.9–36.8 kg) for cold medications. Nearly 2.7 t of methamphetamine were seized in Afghanistan in 2021. Assuming a purity range of 50%–90%, some 266–478 t of dried ephedra or 38–68 t of cold medication would need to have been processed.ConclusionSimulated estimates show that considerable amounts of either ephedra or cold medication are needed to produce 1 kg of methamphetamine in Afghanistan. This raises questions about the plausibility of ephedra as the dominant source of Afghanistan's methamphetamine.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the amount of inputs needed for methamphetamine manufacture in Afghanistan

Pardo,

Nobajas Ganau,

Zeiler

2024

Addiction

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since inception, the collected US data suggest that there was a gradual shift from using a pseudoephedrine or ephedrine precursor to a range of 1‐phenylpropan‐2‐one (P2P)‐based methods, which involved a number of different methods and pre‐precursors. The presented work also illustrates the importance of preparedness and readiness when it comes to monitoring developing trends in illicit drug manufacturing 6 . An Australian overview is presented by Helen Salouros from the Australian NMI in New South Wales that covers the period between 2011 and 2020.…”

Section: The Profiling Of Drugsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presented work also illustrates the importance of preparedness and readiness when it comes to monitoring developing trends in illicit drug manufacturing. 6 An Australian overview is presented by Helen Salouros from the Australian NMI in New South Wales that covers the period between 2011 and 2020. Similar to observations made in the United States, many changes in the chemical profile of methamphetamine have been observed, which also extended to exploring more analytical methodologies, such as stable isotope ratio analysis.…”

Section: The Profiling Of Drugsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing the challenges in forensic drug chemistry II

Brandt

Collins

2022

Drug Testing and Analysis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Therefore, it is important to develop strategies to control MA abuse and break international distribution chains. Forensic drug analysis, in this case MA impurity analysis, can play a key role in these goals [2][3][4]. Gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and GC/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) are commonly used to analyze seized MA and investigate impurities that originate from the precursor or are produced during the chemical synthesis of MA [5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in methamphetamine impurity profiles induced by tert‐butoxycarbonylation

Segawa

Okada

Yamamuro

et al. 2023

Journal of Forensic Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Analysis of impurities in methamphetamine (MA) can be used to characterize MA seizures, investigate the relationship among MA seizures, and provide information on their synthetic routes. Recently, chemically derivatized MA, such as tert‐butoxycarbonyl (t‐Boc) MA, has been seized and attracted attention because routine forensic analysis methods may fail to correctly identify them. Chemical derivatization is a simple method for protection and deprotection of a compound, and protection of MA using t‐Boc can be used to mask the MA. Although t‐Boc derivatization might alter the impurity profile of MA, the actual changes in the impurity profile have not been investigated. In this study, changes in the MA impurity profile with tert‐butoxycarbonylation were explored. MA and some typical impurities were derivatized using di‐tert‐butyl dicarbonate and water. Analysis of the impurities in five MA samples by gas chromatography showed that peaks both appeared and disappeared for the deprotected MA compared with the original MA. However, typical impurities important for characterizing MA seizures were conserved after derivatization and deprotection. Most of the new peaks were speculated to be contaminants introduced during derivatization and deprotection. A peak giving a mass spectrum similar to that of t‐Boc MA was detected in the chromatograms of t‐Boc MA and deprotected MA. Although the origin of this peak was not determined, it might be a marker for the MA involving tert‐butoxycarbonylation. These results indicate that tert‐butoxycarbonylation can alter the MA impurity profile; therefore, care is needed when interpreting results for derivatized MA.

show abstract

Monitoring methamphetamine in the United States: A two‐decade review as seen by the DEA methamphetamine profiling program

Cited by 15 publications

References 38 publications

Modelling the amount of inputs needed for methamphetamine manufacture in Afghanistan

Modelling the amount of inputs needed for methamphetamine manufacture in Afghanistan

Addressing the challenges in forensic drug chemistry II

Changes in methamphetamine impurity profiles induced by tert‐butoxycarbonylation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About