☛ Official ☚ [DXM Subthread] Extraction

[MrSteak63]

Yes, no damn lighter fluid. This is a harm reduction forum.

 

[tehspamninja]

I'm definitely doing this soon.

 

[Ginger Jack]

God damb it looks confusing,

But It's worth the wild.
I'll stick to Diphenhydramine yal. lol

 

[Scrabbety]

Welp, I was intrigued. Right now my batch is cooling in the fridge. This is my first chemistry experiment, but getting that menthol whiff was a sure sign of success. Step 3: Profit!

I've never done anything with Robotussin or it's components, but I'm gonna do this with an open happy mind. Lemme run down my afternoon:

Got razorblades, 1 gallon ziplocks, 64oz ammonia, 12pk of 1pt (16oz) mason jars, duct tape from Walmart - $15
Got 1qt naphtha from hardware store - $8
Got 2 z Robotussin Nighttime cold/cough/flu (the only syrup I could find with CPM) - $21

Cleaned out 3 mason jars (they had a hint of citrus inside), got out 84oz soda mug. Filled a jar z naphtha, 4oz water, shook, separated contents in a ziplock, put the "scrubbed" naphtha in a fresh mason. Repeated. In retrospect, I should only have done this step only once. This produced way more than I needed for 16oz Robotussin.

Dumped an z bottle into each 16oz jar, added 6-7oz of ammonia, shook, filled the jar the rest of the way with scrubbed naphtha, shook some more. All 32oz fit nicely into a gallon ziplock. No suds or bubbles. Let it hang for a few minutes. I could clearly the see the clear stuff riding the crimson stuff.

Made the small hole at the lowest corner. When the red stuff fully drained into my soda mug, I could clearly see just the remotest amount of residue cling to the bottom, then get washed into a clean mason jar as I collected the clear stuff. When I repeated the step into a fresh ziplock, the lowest 5 millimeters of the bag had red fluid. I used a paperclip to cordon off that section, then manhandled the clear stuff to the other corner. I completely amputated the red corner. I could see nary a drop of red in the clear corner, so I drained it directly into a clean 9x9 pyrex casserole dish. It was about 2mm deep.

By this time it was about 6:30. No hairdryer, so I took the pan outside. The sun had gone behind the trees but it was still warm out. I set a timer for 30 minutes. It didn't seem to have changed; there was a slight naphtha smell, no hint of menthol. I brought the dish in. Filled a skillet with water, turned an electric burner onto simmer (1/6), put the dish over the skillet, started cleaning up my mason jars.

By the way, if anyone knows, is there a proper way to dispose of the ammonia/cough syrup waste? I, erm, flushed it down the toilet. Same with the water I used to scrub the naphtha.

Anyway, it didn't seem like it was evaporating. I increased the heat to 5/6, which is right below the water boiling point on our stove. After awhile I could see bubbles start to form -under- the pyrex. At this point, my old lady comes out of the bedroom screaming about the fumes. I start running around opening more doors and windows and turning the swamp cooler up. I come back and the dish looks empty. I give it a sniff and WHOOF I get a head full of minty goodness. I take it off the hot plate, come back and consult the directions.

At this point I get confused:

Try putting the pan in the fridge and letting it cool to jumpstart crystallization, which does work, but I find that crystallization takes place much quicker when a hair blow dryer is used and the pan is very dry and warm

Warm or cool? I finally went with refrigerator, and began typing this down.

Moment of truth: time to check the fridge!
---
Nothing even remotely close to the pictures above. No crystals, no powder. There's definitely a cold fluid stuck to the bottom. When I scrape the pan with a razor blade I can the sounds of something coming off. The razor blade has a goo-like substance on it, something like corn syrup in color and viscosity.

I'll let it sit in the fridge overnight, see what happens in the morning. But to those who have had success, please tell me:
If I don't have a hair dryer, how should I go about the evaporative process?
When the naphtha evaporates and I have menthol, fridge or room temperature? And for how long?

Update! About 4 hours after putting the dish into the fridge I'm pleased to find crystals, yes, like the pictures on page 1! Having scraped the contents into a pile, and chopped them into a fine powder. Much like the consistency of powdered sugar, the powder is fine enough to nestle into my fingerprints. I put it all into a spoon, stirred into a shot of vodka (shoulda chugged faster, blargh!), chased it with some cola.

As I close this, I am T+20 minutes, been typing a bit funny (could be the vodka talkin'), I'll post up on events tomorrow.

Señor Bistéc, thank you for posting this! Not often I decide to go out and play Johnny Chemist.

 

[rogan]

How much Naphtha did you use?

But more to the point Robitussin Nighttime is not what you want to use, in the UK it doesn't even contain Dextromethorphan, in the US besides DXM it contains:
Acetaminophen - bad, will end up in the final product and will fuck your liver.
Chlorpheniramine maleate - very bad, this is the reason why people die off CCC's - but I am not certain that it will end up the final product so still don't risk it.
Phenylephrine - no idea honestly.

Whatever you have now throw it out its garbage!

You want a cough syrup that contains one single active ingredient: Dextromethorphan.

Edit: Just reread the first page of this thread which states the method will remove the ingredients I listed above - personally I am suspicious of this, I would appreciate any comments from someone with more knowledge of chemistry than me. Scrabbety please don't consume until someone can confirm it - its not worth risking it, I don't imagine it would kill you but it could do serious damage to your liver.

 

[delta_9]

Whatever you have now throw it out its garbage!

yes, definately.

scrabberty, naphtha will evaporate off at room temp and a blowdryer only speeds things up. You could've left it outside for an hour and gotten the same results. You should also get ONLY syrups containing dxm or dxm hbr as it's active ingrediant.

Rogan : I noticed the same thing a while back, I guess I was just hoping people would have the common sense to read through the replies before trying this.
Anyway, This is an older, but much more accurate extraction method.

Everyone, if you wish to conduct this extraction, please use an updated version like the one I've posted. Following the instruction on the first page here could result in serious problems.

 

[MrSteak63]

You know the first page extraction is a gathering of info on the dextroverse forums of people using the extraction link you posted by personal experience and such right? They used to do lemondrops in the DV, then it went to freebase and evolved. And that's agent lemon/lemondrops of course, and this is aimed to have a powder as the result.

As for the other chemicals, yeah to be most safe you should use only DXM active syrups, as I've tried a few different kinds and came up with different results. I've done the dollar store kind with the Gufenesin in it, and got it without the frothy layer the first pull, but on the second it was very present (about took the whole naptha section up).

But yeah, I haven't changed the first post in a while. I should update it, starting today.

 

[kidamnesiac]

does anyone else think you are getting the carbonate salt of dxm rather than the freebase?

 

[delta_9]

You know the first page extraction is a gathering of info on the dextroverse forums of people using the extraction link you posted by personal experience and such right?

If that's the case why haven't you updated this yet. Using syrups with Chlorpheniramine Maleate, Pseudoephedrine, Acetaminophen, or Gufenesin is NOT safe. I'm not exactly sure what happens, but you don't end up with dxm crystals.

 

[MrSteak63]

If that's the case why haven't you updated this yet. Using syrups with Chlorpheniramine Maleate, Pseudoephedrine, Acetaminophen, or Gufenesin is NOT safe. I'm not exactly sure what happens, but you don't end up with dxm crystals.

I do agree and am updating it more. Haven't touched the first page in a while besides today, I'll research it a bit more and add some more recent tests with it as well.

 

[delta_9]

^I'll look over it again too but I think the only thing that needs updating is the list of active ingrediants.

edit : This is something I noticed a few months ago, and since we're updating why not include it. This is simply a quote from the link I posted in post 112.

"VM&P Naphtha is safe to use AS DESCRIBED to produce DXM hydrocitrate, but not to produce freebase. The naptha is not refined enough to produce a safe freebase"

***This is only something I've read and all my extractions using vm&p naphtha yeilded perfect dxm crystals. However, the dextroverse seems knowledgeable and I don't think they would put misinformation on their site on purpose. Conduct your own experiments if you feel it's necessary but I just want to make it known I'm not saying this is true or not true.***

 

[MrSteak63]

I'll admit the next portion is a close copy paste, but it's worthy info nonetheless, as this is a safety forum.
Naphtha has various chemicals in it that do not boil off at the point that the majority of the naphtha does.

-methylpentane (also known as isohexane)
---------------------
Boiling point: 60 C
Toxicity: Causes brain damage from prolonged vapor exposure, but not known to be carcinogenic.

3-Methylpentane (another hexane)
--------------------
Boiling point: 63.3 C
Toxicity: Mildly toxic, as with all other isomers of hexane.

2,2-dimethylbutane (yet another hexane)
-----------------------
Boiling point: 49.73 C
Toxicity: Mild as well, unless inhaled in concentrated quantities

2,3-Dimethylbutane (the last hexane)
------------------------
Boiling point: 58 C
Toxicity: The same as the other hexanes; it's not that bad.

2-methylbutane
-------------------
Boiling point: 28 C
Toxicity: Quite toxic at levels around 1ml/kg (about 50 grams), but you shouldn't receive anywhere near that much after an extraction. It you could get this 100% pure, it might make a great chemical to extract with. But chances are you can't.

Cyclopentane
----------------
Boiling point: 49 C
Toxicity: Cancerous from long term exposure at unknown concentrations[1]. Hopefully most of this will have evaporated off before you eat whatever you extracted though.

Pentane
----------
Boiling Point: 36.1 C
Toxicity: Doesn't seem to be toxic at any appreciable level assuming you have proper ventilation. Even up to 20 grams per cubic meter, it doesn't seem to cause any serious effects. [2]
Notes: This is fully miscible in water, and therefore could cause you to lose DXM when performing your extraction as I believe DXM is soluble in this.

Benzene
------------
Boiling point: 80.1 C (higher than most of the other chemicals, so this will have relatively more left over after evaporation)
Toxicity: Known Carcinogen even in extremely low amounts[3]. This is one of the nasties that you want to stay away from.

Cyclo Paraffins and Paraffins
--------------------------------
Boiling point: usually 300 C or higher
Toxicity: mild if any toxicity
Notes: Paraffins are hydrocarbons like the others (they have the general formula C(n) H(2n+2) for paraffins or C(n) H(2n) for cyclo paraffins) Hydrocarbons usually become more stable and have higher boiling points as the molecule gets larger, so while these will be left over they usually aren't toxic. However keep in mind the ones you will be dealing with were soaked in benzene and cyclopentane which are known carcinogens.

More to come including:
----------------------
Naphthenes, Sulfer, and others!


EDIT: To find any of the following chemicals try doing a google search for "Home chemistry supplies"

A new alternative to Naphtha needs to be found
-------------------------------------------------

A few plausible chemicals could be Diethyl Ether, Hexane, Toluene, or Chloroform.

Diethyl Ether:
-------------

Diethyl ether is slightly soluble in water and so it may lower your yields (as much as ten percent.) However it evaporates VERY fast and cleanly.

BY NO MEANS USE ANY AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT as they always contain more than just diethyl ether. You can only really get this if either you're a skilled chemist and know how to make it (don't try to if you're not,)
or if you have access to chemical supplies somehow.

The boiling point of diethyl ether is only 35 degrees Celsius, so in no time it can be evaporated off and you can obtain crystals.


Hexanes
----------

EDIT: Hexane is usually available as a mixture of it's five isomers. The toxicity of hexane is extremely low (at least in the amount that may be left over in a freebase extraction). So it would make a wonderful solvent. It's just about completely immiscible in water so you wouldn't have to worry about losing any DXM because of this.

Hexane is readily available from almost any chemical supplier, as long as you're 18 it shouldn't be a problem to obtain. With a boiling point of 69 degrees Celsius it will take a bit longer to evaporate, but it's still faster than naphtha.


Toluene
-------

EDIT: It is not banned but is indeed watched and is therefore a bit more difficult to come by.

Some people with access to chem labs can still obtain it, but it can be difficult to come by. It's boiling point is way up at 111 degrees so it will take all day to evaporate.


Chloroform
----------

EDIT: it is not banned and DXM is very soluble in it, you can find this from almost any home chemistry supplier.

It's boiling point it at 61 degrees, so it will evaporate off at a decent speed. Chloroform is heavier than water, so if you extract with this it would be the bottom layer rather than the top.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
None of these should be miscible with water at any appreciable level and should all work in freebase extractions.

Evaporate all of these OUTSIDE. Many of them have vapors heavier than air which will only collect near the ground--even if you try and only leave a window open. When you happen to finally get your head close to the ground you could get a concentrated dose, pass out and collapse on the floor, and only breathe in nasty vapors the whole time (worst case scenario).



If anyone else has any ideas on other readily available chemicals please let everyone know. Also naphtha is a common ingredient in many extractions, so this should defiantly be considered.

Tell me what you guys think, and I'm adding it to the front page soon. I'd appreciate it if any of you bluelighters have any of these alt chemicals out there to test it out with them, as I will be doing the same.

Also, if anybody has any info or tips or anything on any step or any part of the extraction, feel free to pm me or post it here and I'll add it to the front, as this thread isn't mine, it's a community knowledge.

 

[Sabby]

Is there any real way, other than by the color and smell, to test the purity of the crystals? Anything short of using an XRD?

 

[delta_9]

^You could use a marquis or mecke reagent test kit. If dxm is present using the marquis kit, the color of the reagent will turn grey, and the substance will begin to smoke. With the mecke, the color of the substance/reagent mixture should turn yellow.
This should all happen very fast if you're using pure dxm crytals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_testing

 

[Scrabbety]

Well, I didn't read Rogan's message in time, and took the entire batch. Still alive, feeling like a night of heavy drinking.

Rogan: Following the instructions, I filled one 16 ounce jar halfway with 8 ounces of syrup, then filled the jar up to the neck with ammonia, then splashed in what I could with naphtha. It -looked- like I was adding to the syrup/ammonia volume another 10%, and the recipe wasn't exactly screaming precise measurements.

Delta_9: I in fact did read every reply before even going to the store. I didn't follow Rave's instructions, stuck with the original post.

I think the mistake I made in selecting a cough syrup was when I was getting the shopping list ready, I was reading the "things you'll need" from bottom up. I purposely put on my scrap of paper Robitussin CPM because that was the first cough syrup I saw, and thought that was the main ingredient I should use. It took me a couple stores before I found this Cough Cold Flu Nighttime deal, but there on the back shining at me under Active Ingredients, like the holy grail, Chlorpheniramine Maleate, USP 1mg. And why do they gotta put the cough syrups on the bottom? To make people avoid lengthy ingredient comparisons? Goddamn, flipping every box over looking for the CPM takes a toll on one's knees.

Okay, I learned my lesson. As for the trip itself, I slept most of it away. An hour or so after drinking it down I was snoring away on the chair. Another couple hours I awoke and walked around. Definitely high, teeth were chattering but I couldn't tell if that was the cold or something else. I'd pass my eye over anything and everything and ask it "Alright, what's your story?" Something I'd definitely repeat, though I'll put on a pot of coffee beforehand. And yes, dammit, I'll get a cough syrup with JUST the dextromethorphan as the only active ingredient. Thank you for your concern

 

[rogan]

I'm glad your ok but please next find a syrup with DXM and DXM only. The fact that you fell asleep does suggest a high dose of CPM - but then again I've falling asleep mid-trip a few times.

Personally I think a freebase extraction is not worth the risks without a lab grade base like one of those posted by MrSteak63. A simple last step with your DXM/Naphtha mix is to add a diluted solution of citric acid shake (a lot) and separate the layers, discard the naphtha and place the DXM Citrate solution over low heat to reduce it to something that will be easy to drink (tho remember it will taste like ass - 10x worse than syrup).

As for testing the purity of the DXM, thats not the point - you know the DXM is in there (assuming you didn't screw up any of the steps). The point with the freebase is the crystals could be 99% pure, but that 1% could be highly toxic/carcinogenic - there is just no way you can tell, the damage might not be apparent till much later in life.

 

[TheAppleCore]

I had some DXM/gufenesin syrup lying around, but no DXM-only syrup, and I had really wanted to try a low dose of DXM (plus I was bored and had an urge to do some chemistry), so I decided to do this extraction on a small scale (100mg DXM).

Here's the issue that I have come to, after shaking up my syrup/ammonia with naphtha:

Some syrups have gufenesin (the 'expectorant' in Robitussin DM) in them, and this will sometimes cause a bubbly frothy layer to be present within the clear layer, if this happens to you (and you're sure you didn't use sudsy ammonia) you're gonna have to wait until all those bubbles pop, and you've got a straight clear layer on the top before proceeding to the next step.

^^This seems to be the case with my ongoing experiment. The problem is, my little bubbles don't appear to be popping. I left my experiment untouched all night, and it still pretty much looks the same as it did an hour or so after shaking: milky white with froth. My ammonia isn't sudsy, either.

How long does it generally take for the naphtha layer to clear up, for those of you who have had this problem? I still have it in a glass jar; can I immerse the glass jar in some hot water? I had heard that this will sometimes clear up an emulsion layer. Or will the DXM decompose under these conditions?

 

[etbll87]

DXM Freebase Extraction success

8)

I went to home depot today to buy the VMandP naptha $5.99
Then to walmart for the clear amonia 97 cents a gallon i think and
had a friend obtain the dex syrup, i dont remember what brand it was i think it said longasting cough. I was able to obtain all the gallon ziplocs,(wish I had more than two at the time was a mess trying to tape up the holes i put, so make sure to have plenty of those)pyrex glass baking pan and mason jars and razor blades and tape from home. also hair dryer. waste collection was milk jugs and we did this in the garage. i messed up with the naptha water bath section. i think i mixed the waste into the mixture but then realized it because the mixture never seperated, when i added the other non waste cleansed naptha it seperated. i think the waste that i accidentally mixed got filtered out in the end tho cause the end result was amazing to watch and when scraped up was pure white.

As i was drying the naptha in the pan i was getting dissapointed and bummed out because after i had dried all the naptha i could see away it looked like nothing was there except a thin oily layer on bottom, i scraped a small portion and it was just a small amount of oil that scraped up but as we watched it dry more and more we noticed weird circle on one side that looked new, at closer look it reminded me of the pictures posted on here. i put the blow dryer very close to the pan and the big circle started to grow fast and new ones started forming patterns everywere. i was so surprised by this and eventually the whole thing became crystalised. scraped it up and ingested the powder mixed up into a shot of lemon juice,
felt minimal effects since i only extracted three bottles and split the powdered crystal dex with another. next time i will take two bottles . my aim is etbll87

 

[SaRz]

Oh wow, this extraction is really good to know- i think i will do just that, the syrup is getting to me after nearly the 10th bottle ive ingested in my DXM experiences.

I have just a few questions. I read a good chunk of this thread but didnt see anything related to my question, so im gonna ask it anyways, dont flame. plz

1) Does the dosing remain the same? I dont see why it would it would get stronger or weaker, but im not chemist and i dont wanna be the idiot who did something stupid because he didnt ask a question on an anonymous forum
So if i started off with 1200mg DXM HBr the final product will be 1200mg DXM crystals. Correct? ( Give or take a few mg due evaporation, bad scrape job, etc. )

[Removed for explicit content]

 

[Xorkoth]

SaRz, you're new here, so no big deal, but let me be the first to tell you that discussing price of drugs and most particularly discussing the selling of drugs is not allowed in this forum. We're not here to help you sell drugs, only use them.

As for your other question, I'm not sure, as I have little experience with DXM and none with extracting it. But I'm sure someone will come along shortly who knows.