4 ms·

Obviously this isn't reflective of any actual history, but in the first season of Breaking Bad, one of the early innovations that the main characters made to ho

by saghm 3y ago

Obviously this isn't reflective of any actual history, but in the first season of Breaking Bad, one of the early innovations that the main characters made to how they produced meth was coming up with a method that avoided needing PE. If I remember correctly, they instead used methylamine, which is an amusingly smart choice by the writers because it literally starts with the word "meth" but has absolutely no utility when making meth, so they didn't have to worry about people getting any ideas from the show.

jaggederest 3y ago
It's used in the P2P method and is a DEA List 1 chemical. It's definitely real chemistry, not fake chemistry. Much of the chemistry on the show was close enough while being vague enough not to actually help anyone who couldn't read the voluminous research papers on the matter.
- saghm 3y ago
  Interesting! I must have misunderstand whatever explanation I heard about this back when watching it (which isn't super surprising in retrospect, given that my chemistry knowledge is limited to having taking AP chem in high school, which I'm now realizing was over a decade ago...)
  - jaggederest 3y ago
    They did throw in some red herrings, deliberately, I think, but the vibe overall was real enough. But honestly the show in general is pretty lackluster from a chemistry nerd standpoint (as is the synthesis of illicit substances in general, real snoozefest of gross white powders turning into gross illegal white powders), there are a bunch of youtube channels doing chemistry that is both more interesting AND won't cause visits from the nice people at the three letter agencies.
Zak 3y ago
Phenylacetone, acetic acid, and methylamine are the ingredients in the Breaking Bad process. There are some fictional aspects, such as the blue color, but the process is real and has become the dominant method of producing meth. It's more cost-effective as I understand it, so removing restrictions on pseudoephedrine probably wouldn't have any effect on the meth supply today. https://dynomight.net/p2p-meth/ https://dynomight.net/p2p-meth/

by saghm 3y ago

jaggederest 3y ago

It's used in the P2P method and is a DEA List 1 chemical. It's definitely real chemistry, not fake chemistry. Much of the chemistry on the show was close enough while being vague enough not to actually help anyone who couldn't read the voluminous research papers on the matter.

saghm 3y ago
Interesting! I must have misunderstand whatever explanation I heard about this back when watching it (which isn't super surprising in retrospect, given that my chemistry knowledge is limited to having taking AP chem in high school, which I'm now realizing was over a decade ago...)
- jaggederest 3y ago
  They did throw in some red herrings, deliberately, I think, but the vibe overall was real enough. But honestly the show in general is pretty lackluster from a chemistry nerd standpoint (as is the synthesis of illicit substances in general, real snoozefest of gross white powders turning into gross illegal white powders), there are a bunch of youtube channels doing chemistry that is both more interesting AND won't cause visits from the nice people at the three letter agencies.

Zak 3y ago

Phenylacetone, acetic acid, and methylamine are the ingredients in the Breaking Bad process. There are some fictional aspects, such as the blue color, but the process is real and has become the dominant method of producing meth. It's more cost-effective as I understand it, so removing restrictions on pseudoephedrine probably wouldn't have any effect on the meth supply today. https://dynomight.net/p2p-meth/ https://dynomight.net/p2p-meth/