Quote:
Albany Street Drug Lab Results
Police say drugs found in a home on Albany Street in St. John's in September are consistent with that of a clandestine lab. As VOCM's Danielle Barron reports, no charges have been laid and the case is now closed.
The RNC sent three products to a Health Canada lab in Montreal for analysis. A mild hallucinogen, harmaline, was confirmed as were the ingredients used to make it: substances including sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, teratic acid, acetone, and an exotic tree bark. Inspector Marlene Jesso says the testing also confirmed the presence of pseudoephedrine and phenyl-2-propanol, which are used in the creation of methamphetamine. Red phosphorus, also used to create meth, was not found. The third product analysis, Jesso says, was what was believed to be dimethyltryptamine, also a hallucinogen, but that testing was inconclusive.
A separate tree bark, called psychotria viridis, was also found. Jesso says the drugs can be taken orally or smoked and described them as very potent because they do not metabolize, which ensures a long high. She says police believe because of the quantity and chemicals found they were used to manufacture illegal drugs. Jesso says the chemicals were 95.5 per cent pure and can only be bought at a chemical store.
Jesso says it's likely the substances were bought online. A small marijuana grow-op was also located. RNC say there is nothing to suggest other people would have been involved. A 43-year-old man who lived in the home later died in hospital as a result of unrelated health complications.
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http://vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&ID=30394
As a chemist this kind of stuff always intrigues me
That guys mother can try to defend him all he wants, people have pseudoephederine for two reasons and two reasons only. The legitimate sinus problems, and the illegal reasons. Having stockpiles of solvents and reagents only pushes suspicions to the illegal side. Also, I wonder if the police are aware that pure red phosphorous is insanely difficult to obtain (it's too unstable), so most pseudo-drug-manufacturers will just use the shavings from a match striker, which is mainly made of red phosphorous
Anyway, that's my love for chemistry talk of the day
