Newsgroups: alt.drugs,rec.drugs.misc,alt.drugs.psychedelics,rec.drugs.psychedelic
From: [m c thomas] at [netcom.com] (Matt Thomas)
Subject: Acid-Base DXM Extraction
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 23:37:13 GMT


-=[ Acid-Base DXM Extraction ]=-


(c)1995 Matt Thomas
*For informational purposes only*

This project is for anyone who uses DXM and is tired of gulping syrup or 
fighting nausea.  An acid-base extraction of DXM will produce a VERY clean 
alternative to syrup or liqui-caps.  DXM freebase only takes a little time 
and effort to make.

You will need:

- A DXM containing cough syrup (8 oz. or more) (It can NOT contain any active 
  ingredients other than Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide) 

- Pure sodium hydroxide (NaOH) (1 tablespoon) (Red Devil Lye works)

- Distilled water (1 cup) (not mineral or spring water)

- Naptha (Zippo lighter fluid or hardware store naptha)

- A few Mason jars w/lids (1 jar for every 8 oz. of cough syrup)

- A medium sized eyedropper

- An electric wok or hotplate with a "simmer" setting

- A drinking straw (some type of plastic stirring rod)

- A plastic measuring spoon (1 tablespoon)

- A few plastic sandwich bags

- A few empty pill capsules that can be put back together

- A credit card or some other fairly flexible piece of plastic with a sharp 
  edge


1)  Make a sodium hydroxide solution by adding 1 tablespoon of sodium 
    hydroxide to 1 cup of distilled water.  Stir with the measuring spoon 
    until completely disolved.  The solution will react and become slightly 
    warm.  *This solution is very skin and eye irritant.  Use caution!*

2)  Pour the cough syrup into the mason jars and distribute until an equal 
    amount is in each jar.  Use a small amount of distilled water to rinse 
    out each bottle to get all of the syrup into the jar.

3)  Add 1 tablespoon of sodium hydroxide solution that was made in step 1 to 
    a jar of cough syrup.  A cloudy substance will be produced within the 
    syrup, that substance is DXM.  Stir with the straw until the syrup 
    becomes clear again.  Repeat step 3 until the DXM will not redisolve.  
    Add 2 additional tablespoons of the sodium hydroxide solution to make 
    sure all the DXM has precipitated out.  Repeat step 3 on each additional 
    jar of untreated cough syrup.  Each jar should look equally cloudy and 
    have about the same amount of liquid.

4)  Add naptha to each jar of cloudy syrup until a 1/2 inch layer of clear 
    fluid floats above the syrup.  Get down and look at the side of the jar 
    to gauge the measurement.  It may take waiting a few minutes to let the 
    two layers separate.

5)  Cover each jar with a plastic sandwich bag by simply laying the bag over 
    the jar's opening.  The bag is there only to protect the lid's rubber 
    seal from disolving in the naptha.  On each jar place a lid over the bag 
    and screw down firmly.

6)  Vigorously shake each jar for about 5 minutes.  The naptha should be 
    distributed into the cough syrup so it can soak up all the cloudy 
    substance.  Wait 5-10 minutes, after shaking, to let the substance 
    separate back into two layers.  The bottom layer, the red syrup, should 
    be fairly clear and should not be cloudy anymore.

7)  Using the eyedropper, carefully draw off the top clear layer from each 
    jar and collect it in another clean jar.  This naptha contains all the 
    DXM that was in the cough syrup before we started.  Be sure to get AS
    MUCH of the top layer as possible.  Take as much time as needed to finish 
    this step.  It is very important.  Try not to get any of the red syrup 
    layer into the eyedropper.

*NEVER do step 8 inside an enclosed area*
8)  Take the electric wok OUTSIDE and carefully pour the naptha that was 
    collected in step 7 into the wok.  Turn the heat up to "simmer" or the 
    lowest possible setting.  The naptha should begin to emit small whispy 
    fumes.  Never allow the heat to get above "simmer" becasue you will begin 
    to cook off the DXM itself.   The heat is used to evaporate the naptha 
    only.  Avoid breathing in the fumes.

9)  After a short time the substance in the wok will reduce to a thin layer 
    of liquid.  It's difficult to tell when all of the naptha has 
    evaporated.  Use your best judgement to decide when to turn off the 
    heat.  If you start to smell a strong minty-like smell, turn off the heat 
    IMMEDIATELY.  Total liquid volume will be about 2-3 tabelspoons in the 
    wok at completion.  It is possible to to remove the heat before it's 
    ready and simply allow the remainder of the naptha evaporate on its own. 

10) Take the wok back inside and let the liquid cool to room temperature.  
    Small crystals will begin to form after a short time.  Let them grow 
    until most of the liquid has crystalized.  This is pure DXM freebase.

11) Use the credit card to scrape up these crystals into a pile.  They may be 
    slightly wet so let them air-dry inside the wok.  Using the credit card, 
    chop up the crystals into a powder.  Put this powder into the empty 
    capsules and store them in a dry place away from sunlight.


Depending on the concentration of DXM in the cough syrup used we can estimate 
how many "mg" are in each capsule.  Most syrup companies will print somewhere 
on the bottle something like:
"Ingredients per spoonful (5mL): Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide, USP 15mg."
By simple division we can find out how many mg per mL there are.  Take 15mg 
and divide it by 5mL.  That gives up 3mg/ml.  Then multiply 3 by how many mL 
were in one bottle of cough syrup.  3 * 118 = 354mg of DXM HBr in each 
bottle.  Now multiply 354 by how many bottles of syrup were used in this 
project.  354 * 4 = 1416mg of DXM freebase is the final product.  To find the 
strength of each capsule, divide 1416 by how many capsules were filled.
1416 / 4 = 354mg per capsule.

It's a good idea to eat a small meal before using these capsules.  DXM 
freebase isn't water soluble therefore the body has a hard time using DXM 
freebase.  Drinking a small amount of alcohol (1 or 2 beers) 10-20 minutes 
after taking the DXM will also help greatly.  Dosage is the same as if you 
were taking DXM by drinking cough syrup or taking cough liqui-caps.
DXM freebase is, in my opinion, a much cleaner and more intense trip.  The 
same "next day great mood" is still evident if not more pronounced.  I recall 
no nausea or itching at any time durring freebase trips.  Music still sounds 
amazing as well.  In conclusion, I feel DXM extraction is a worthwhile and 
very rewarding project.

Matt Thomas
[m c thomas] at [netcom.com]
Feel free to e-mail!

*I hold no responsibility for any damages caused by the use of this text*