

- #RECIPE FOR CRYSTAL METH HOW TO#
- #RECIPE FOR CRYSTAL METH TRIAL#
- #RECIPE FOR CRYSTAL METH PROFESSIONAL#
We contacted law enforcement and public health professionals in our area regarding cold cook production of methamphetamine. Consequently, abusers attempting to manufacture methamphetamine often are the source of unfounded information concerning methamphetamine production. Some methamphetamine abusers may be trying to contend with practical issues-such as faster and cheaper ways to manufacture the drug-when they stumble upon what they believe to be a new method of production or an easier way to obtain a precursor. Methamphetamine myths often involve methods of obtaining precursors, such as extracting chemicals from common retail items, as well as methods of producing methamphetamine using ordinary products as precursors. We also found government sources that call this cold cook method a “myth.” For example, using the search terms “fish tank and methamphetamine,” or “gun bluing and methamphetamine” led us to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) website on “Meth Myths” ( DEA, 2005). A term search on the Internet produced a number of recipes similar to those we heard from our respondents. Our lack of knowledge on the cold cook method referenced by our respondents prompted us to conduct an on-line investigation. The environmental dangers resulting from methamphetamine laboratories (“meth-labs”) have lead to increased public health concern ( Connell-Carrick, 2007 Hannan, 2005). Our previous understanding on methamphetamine production involved processes requiring a viable heat source and having the potential of violent explosions, as well as the dispersion of noxious chemicals.
#RECIPE FOR CRYSTAL METH TRIAL#
Our goal in this paper is to disseminate the claims from disparate sources regarding cold cook methods of methamphetamine production and open this topic to academic discussion and research attention.Īs more of our respondents referenced the cold cook method of producing methamphetamine we began our field trial investigation to distinguish the legitimacy of their claims.

#RECIPE FOR CRYSTAL METH PROFESSIONAL#
Our basis of information beyond the suburban methamphetamine users interviewed for our study included: (1) official sources, such as criminal justice websites and public health reports (2) correspondence with the local forensic laboratory chemist (3) Internet websites found by using word search engines and (4) conversations with professional colleagues. A field trial design is derived from ethnographic work in which the researchers “review a variety of field sources and look for emergent patterns that replicate this material from a street addict point of view” ( Agar, Bourgois French, & Murdoch, 2001, p.70). We used a field trial design to expedite the background research. We decided to investigate this method further. The drug was called “string dope” and sold as methamphetamine. Respondents referred to this method as the “fish tank” or “cold cook” method. The process also allowed the production to be hidden from view, either underground or in a dark closet or basement. Growing methamphetamine was reported as a safer “cooking” method for the producer (“cook”) since it did not involve heating ingredients and was less likely to cause an explosion. Ingredients were mixed or layered in a container, typically a fish tank or five gallon bucket, and the container was buried in the ground or kept in a dark closet for up to 28 days until crystals grew on strings suspended above the chemical solution. Other recipes involved various cleaning fluids such as acetone and ammonia or chemicals such as iodine. The ingredients included pseudoephedrine, red phosphorus, charcoal, gun bluing and aluminum shavings.
#RECIPE FOR CRYSTAL METH HOW TO#
Respondents recounted similar but slightly different accounts of how to grow methamphetamine crystals on strings. Respondents reported “growing methamphetamine.” Upon further questioning we learned that growing methamphetamine crystals on a string suspended over a container was a common method for producing methamphetamine in the area. We conducted ethnographic research among diverse drug networks and interviewed methamphetamine users who lived and used methamphetamine in the suburbs.

In 2007 we began a study on methamphetamine use in the suburbs of a large southeastern city of the United States.
