Clandestine Methamphetamine Manufacture: Part II
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY: QUANTITATIVE
ANALYSIS FOR METHAMPHETAMINE OF LARGE VOLUME EXTRACTION
SOLVENTS SEIZED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT
[ISBN 0-9621181-3-3]
$18.95 (US)
(32 Pages of Text + 13 Exhibits)
 This treatise reports and summarizes the results of quantitative Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis of 17 gallons of methylamine extraction solvent seized by Law Enforcement Officials during the course of an investigation of illicit methamphetamine manufacture. These results verify by GCMS the identification of methylamine as the extraction solvent used in the manufacture procedure. The concentrations and mass of methamphetamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and amphetamine as measured in the 17 gallons of extraction solvent are reported.
This e-Report includes a detailed Clandestine Laboratory “Recipe” for methamphetamine manufacture and reconciles the use of large volumes of methylamine with the typical protocols for methamphetamine manufacture. The analytical results are explained in terms of the ionization and solubility characteristics of the phenylethylamine derivatives.
The Analytical Results reported herein are also significant in that they provide the first evidence that large volumes of solvents which are seized under suspicion by Law Enforcement Personnel are often dilute solutions containing trace amounts of controlled substances. Under Health and Safety Code Section 11379.8 a Defendant convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine with respect to a liquid containing methamphetamine in excess of three (3) gallons, earns an enhanced penalty. The Enhancement Provisions of Section 11379.8(a) of the California Health and Safety Code fail to require measurement of the concentration of the controlled substance in addition to measurement of sample volume. However, Health and Safety Code Section 11379.8(d) grants discretion to the sentencing court to strike the volume enhancement, if it determines at the sentencing hearing that there are circumstances in mitigation of the additional punishment and states on the record its reasons for striking the additional punishment [ People v. Hard, 112 Cal. App. 4th 272 (2003)]. This report on Clandestine Methamphetamine Manufacture serves as an example of the type of evidence that may be used to mitigate enhancement penalties for illicit methamphetamine manufacture.
Contents
I. Analytical Results
A. Physicochemical Characteristics
B. Detection of Methylamine by GCMS
C. Quantitative GCMS: Controlled Substances in Samples 200S, 201S
1. Quantitation using Internal Standards
2. Derivatization of Samples
3. Selective Ion Monitoring
4. Experimental Procedure
5. Calculations and Results
II. Reconciliation of Quantitative Results with Clandestine Laboratory Procedure
A. Anonymous Method for Clandestine Laboratory Synthesis
1. Yield Issue
2. Alkaline Aqueous Media
3. Methamphetamine Solubility
$18.95 (US)
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