Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Shake and Bake

A lot of people I talk to assume that the signs that a home or apartment has been used in the production of meth are readily apparent. That’s not true.

Some of the signs of methamphetamine production are obvious:

  • Strong smells (similar to cat urine, ammonia)
  • Excessive trash that includes antifreeze containers, red stained coffee filters, and starter fluid cans
  • Windows blacked out and reinforced doors
  • Signs of trip wires, security cameras, or other booby traps that are set to alert the people making Meth that someone is approaching (meth users are HIGHLY paranoid)

There are a number of ways to manufacture meth that don’t leave behind these tell-tale signs. The most amazing, and scary, to me is the so-called Shake and Bake method.

Basically, all the ingredients needed to make Meth are dumped into a 2L soda bottle. Now keep in mind these are highly volatile, explosive materials being combined here! Once everything is dumped in the bottle the next step is to shake the bottle to mix all the ingredients, throw it, and RUN LIKE HELL! (It kind of sounds to me like holding a stick of dynamite in your hands and lighting the fuse. All in the name of getting high.) Within a few hours, chemistry works its wonder and you end up with the finished product.

That is, of course, as long as the whole thing doesn’t explode first.

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