The main thing about P2P meth is that there's so much of it (2022)
Key takeaways
- Sam Quinones was recently on Econtalk and in the Atlantic talking about methamphetamines and homelessness.
- Ephedrine meth was like a party drug. […] You could normally kind of more or less hang onto your life.
- What do we know about the difference between old meth and P2P meth?
Sam Quinones was recently on Econtalk and in the Atlantic talking about methamphetamines and homelessness. He points out that “old” meth was made from ephedrine and that “new” meth is made from a chemical called Phenylacetone or P2P. He suggests that new meth might be chemically different in a way that caused people to go crazy, starting around 2017:
Ephedrine meth was like a party drug. […] You could normally kind of more or less hang onto your life. You had a house, you had a job. […] P2P meth was nothing like that. It was a very sinister drug. It brought you inside. You didn’t want to be around other people. You wanted to just kind of be alone with whatever bizarre thoughts your mind was now cooking up, and conspiracies.
I was curious about this. What do we know about the difference between old meth and P2P meth? What evidence is there that these have a chemical difference?