Homemade Drug Tests

[Phospholipid]

Hey folks, I was just wondering if anyone knows of a test one can perform at home in order to determine whether or not a substance is cocaine or Tylenol 3. Thanks for everyones input.

[Evangelante]

Snort it.

 

--edit--

 

There's probably some pH test you can do since many types of asprin increase the pH level in the blood to increase blood flow to take away the headache and other aches and pains.

[Yggdrasil]

Probably the first thing I'd look at is melting point. If the melting point difference between the two compounds is greater than 20°C, it should be easy enough to identify the unknown compound (it is more difficult to distinguish between the two if the mp difference is less; I wouldn't try this method if the difference were less than 10°C). However, after a quick internet search, I could only find the melting point of acetominophen (tylenol): 169°C. So, if you have the equipment to somewhat accurately determine a melting point and the melting point difference is at least 10°C, I would try this.

[jdurg]

Chemically speaking, it is the same thing. The human body sees no difference between cocaine hydrochloride and freebase cocaine (i.e. crack). Crack is simply the cocaine molecule that has not been neutralized with an acid. Therefore, it is a freebase and the melting point is much, much lower which allows for it to be smoked. The term 'crack' comes from the fact that the substance crackles and pops when heated due to the bicarbonate decomposing into carbon dioxide upon heating. Take crack cocaine and add some hydrochloric acid to it and you get the cocaine hydrochloride which is the powder that is soluble in water and referred to as 'nose candy'. Basically speaking, it's just a different form of administration. It would be like saying morphine administered by IV is not the same as morphine taken by pill.

 

As for the original question, I too am not sure why you would need to know how to differentiate between the two unless you 'purchased' your substance from a shady individual. Tylenol #3 is sold OTC in Canada, while cocaine in any form is never legally sold. So the only way you could have a question about the composition is if you obtained it from a 'not so legal' source. It's a really fine line we're walking here between chemical inquisition and drugs.

[Silencer]

http://www.erowid.org/plants/coca/coca_chemistry.shtml

 

You will see the melting points for various forms there.

[Bluenoise]

Well acetomenophen is insoluble in water and cocaine hydrochloride is soluble so you could just try to dissolve it and see what happens. Also cocaine is made insoluble upon addition of NaOH and acetominophen is made soluble by addition of NaOH. So putting it in an NaOH solution would tell you what it is even if you didn't know if the cocaine was in it's HCl salf form or if it was in it's base form.

But this is only usefull for differentiating between the two if you know that it has to be one or the other.

[Silencer]

While we're on the subject, could someone actually explain what's happening chemically when you turn such chemicals into salts?

 

Like, on prescriptions it's always "blahblah HCl" or "blahblah HBr" or something.

[latentheat]

While we're on the subject' date=' could someone actually explain what's happening chemically when you turn such chemicals into salts?

 

Like, on prescriptions it's always "blahblah HCl" or "blahblah HBr" or something.[/quote']

 

Most drugs are weak bases, hence the term 'freebase'. When you react the freebase with an acid, it is neutralized to the salt, eg. d-methorphan hydrobromide, d-methorphan hydrochloride, d-methorphan sulfate, so on and so forth.

 

These drugs are bases because of the amine group that alkaloids have...the nitrogen atom can accept H⁺ ions because it has a lone electron pair forming a substituted ammonium ion with a positive charge. The anions left in solution from the acid bond ionically with the substituted ammonium ions.

[jdurg]

By converting the drug into a salt, it becomes MUCH easier for the drug to get into your mostly water based body. This allows a greater percentage of the drug to actually do what it's supposed to do rather than just get eliminated from the body.

[Silencer]

Ah, ok. Thanks.

[budullewraagh]

i thought cocaine HCl was crack and freebase was the fluffy kind

[Bluenoise]

Nah freebase and crack are the same thing. By freeing the base you can then smoke it since the base has a lower boiling point then the salt. Trying to smoke the salt destroys much of the drug before it vaporises due to the high heat needed. So when you hear about people using baking soda (HNaCO3)to cook crack they're just absorbing the HCl to free the base. (Also creating side products of NaCl, H2O and CO2)

Cocaine HCl is what's know as "Cocaine" and can be snorted because it is a water soluble salt that can pass through the thin nasal lining once it dissolves in the mucos present.

[budullewraagh]

last i checked crack was significantly more potent than cocaine because of the greater capacity for absorption

[latentheat]

last i checked crack was significantly more potent than cocaine because of the greater capacity for absorption

 

The freebase is more addictive because of the way it is administered. When the freebase vapor is inhaled the drug reaches the brain within 5 seconds and produces an instant rush. Also, a user is more prone to seriously overdo it with freebase because it wears off quicker and they are apt to smoke more to get the high back.

 

Freebase cocaine can either be prepared by basifying cocaine hydrochloride with ammonia and extracting with a nonpolar solvent (this is the high quality stuff) or just by basifying cocaine hydrochloride with sodium bicarbonate and boiling off the water (this is crack). It is lower quality mainly because some sodium bicarbonate is left in the rocks (stoich is unlikely to be correct in a crack smoker's lab ) (and sodium chloride too from the acid base reaction).

 

cocaine hydrochloride + sodium bicarbonate ---> cocaine [base] + carbon dioxide + water + sodium chloride

[jdurg]

I think latentheat hit the nail right on the head there.