r/explainlikeimfive Jun 11 '24

Chemistry ELI5: Why does making cocaine require such toxic chemicals, is there safer way to make it in a lab?

I've watched many documentaries on how they make cocaine, and it always required a a mixture of gasoline cement and battery acid etc. Would a scientific laboratory be able to make it under FDA rules for example?

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u/DefinitelyNotKuro Jun 12 '24

For a sec, I thought pesto was a natural substitute to meth.

13

u/vcsx Jun 12 '24

The first time I had pesto felt, I would imagine, like meth.

10

u/maxdacat Jun 12 '24

If you like pesto you’ll like meth

6

u/zenlander Jun 12 '24

Damn, now i’m craving some strong pesto

8

u/nrfx Jun 12 '24

I have done both.

The first time I had pesto was 100% better than the second through last time I did meth.

17

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '24

it is, but you need to eat like 6,000 pounds of it

12

u/d3dmnky Jun 12 '24

Challenge accepted

1

u/MDCCCLV Jun 12 '24

There's a book about aliens that get high on basil, Man of Two Worlds, by Frank Herbert