How are speed and crystal meth made?
Both speed and crystal meth are synthesised from ephedrine, which is found in the ephedra bush and commonly used in Chinese medicine. Setting up a crystal meth lab is relatively simple. Most of the chemicals are easily obtainable from over-the-counter medicines, and it can be manufactured on a stovetop with little specialist equipment. Making the drug, however, can be extremely dangerous due to the amount of toxic gases and flammable chemicals involved. How long have amphetamines been around? Although first synthesised in Berlin in 1887, speed didn’t leave the lab until the early 1930s when it was sold in asthma inhalers as the decongestant Benzedrine. By 1937, students were using the inhaler to help them stay up and study for exams. The military instantly saw the speed’s potential as a way of combating battle fatigue. During World War II, British soldiers consumed an estimated 72 million capsules.
