There is nothing secret about the means of making meth. Meth “recipes” are widely known and readily available over the internet. The most common meth “recipe” in Illinois is called the “Birch reduction method” or – more commonly – the “Nazi method” (because the German government used it during World War II). A second method that is common in the western United States but less common in Illinois is known as the “red phosphorous” or “red-P” method.
Whether a meth “cook” uses the “Nazi method” or the “red-P” method, he cannot make meth without ephedrine or pseudoephedrine – substances found in Sudafed, Claratin, and other over-the-counter cold medications that are widely available in local drug stores, supermarkets, and truck stops. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are to methamphetamine what flour is to bread – THE essential ingredient.
Ephedrine or pseudoephedrine become methamphetamine by means of a chemical reaction. A meth maker using the Nazi method (common in Illinois) brings about this chemical reaction by combining the ephedrine or pseudoephedrine with two other ingredients: anhydrous ammonia (a liquified fertilizer) and lithium (a metal extracted from lithium batteries). By contrast, a meth maker using the red-P method (less common in Illinois) produces methamphetamine by combining ephedrine or pseudoephedrine with red phosphorous, iodine crystals, and water.
While these chemical reactions are the essential step required to turn ephedrine or pseudoephedrine into methamphetamine, both the Nazi method and the red-P method involve additional steps both before and after these chemical reactions. For typical meth cook in Illinois, using the Nazi method, the entire process of making a batch of methamphetamine lasts about four hours from start to finish.
Now I know why I get wired when I take Sudafed or Clariton.