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Methamphetamine Research Paper

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“Jessie, we have to cook.” This is a popular quote from the hit HBO show Breaking Bad, which follows the experiences of high school chemistry teacher Walter White as he starts cooking methamphetamine to pay for his cancer treatment. This shows success has spawned a debate about the glorification of drug use, and methamphetamine in particular, by the media. No matter which side of the debate you find yourself on, it is worth finding out more information about this compound.

Methamphetamine (often shortened to just meth), is structured as an aromatic ring with a 3-carbon chain attached,an amine group bonded to carbon-2 of that chain and finally a methyl group attached to the nitrogen. The IUPAC name for methamphetamine is (2S)-N-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine and its molecular formula is C10H15N. …show more content…

It boils at 212°C, melts at 170-2°C, has a molar mass of 149.234 g/mol, has a pH of approximately 5, and is soluble in both water and alcohol. Methamphetamine was first synthesized by a Japanese chemist named Nagayoshi Nagai in 1893 and was used extensively by both the allies and the axis(Germany, Japan, Italy and other affiliates) forces to keep their troops alert and awake for long hours. After the war was over the Japanese still had large quantities of the drug stockpiled so they began to sell it over the counter until the negative side effects began to appear. The American government partially avoided this problem by making the drug prescription only but even that did not stop the rise in popularity and in 1971 the FDA classified it as a Schedule II narcotic. After

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