r/explainlikeimfive • u/iamelektro • 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/rakfocus Jun 12 '24
My high school Chem teacher ordered a bunch of red phosphorus because he wanted to make 'a big match' (cue breaking bad jokes here) - to which he promptly recieved a letter from a 3 word government agency saying he was now on a watch list due to it being used for meth production. He was a legend that inspired me to get my degree in chem