Nicodem
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Award for anti-cook solution
Got surprised to read the latest InnoCentive challenge. Since we have a bunch of cook-haters at the forum, I though to post this here. You can now,
not only make the life of cooks even more miserable (is it even possible?), but you can even earn quite an award:
| Quote: | AWARD: $100,000 USD | DEADLINE: 8/09/11 | ACTIVE SOLVERS: 69 | POSTED: 5/09/11
The Seeker desires a method for producing pseudoephedrine products in such a way that it will be extremely difficult for clandestine chemists to
extract and use the pseudoephedrine in the production of the illegal drug methamphetamine. The Seeker may be interested in pursuing further
collaboration with Solvers whose solutions they find promising. The Seeker may also allow Solvers additional time after the submission deadline to
finalize experiments required for the full reduction-to-practice award.
This is a Reduction-to-Practice Challenge that requires a written proposal and experimental proof-of-concept data (and/or sample delivery). In the
absence of a proven solution, however, the Seeker may make a partial award of up to $20,000 USD for a purely theoretical contribution. The Seeker
may, at their sole discretion, attempt to reduce to practice a purely theoretical contribution. If this reduction-to-practice is successful, the
Seeker will make a partial award of $40,000 to the winning Solver.
https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9932789
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The challenge may be even more interesting for the cooks as they are generally stereotyped as greedy - 100 k$ is a good enough motivation. With that
money you can actually buy proper equipment and chemicals to make meth on kilogram scale, without using such idiotic precursors like pseudoephedrine
pills.
…there is a human touch of the cultist “believer” in every theorist that he must struggle against as being
unworthy of the scientist. Some of the greatest men of science have publicly repudiated a theory which earlier they hotly defended. In this lies their
scientific temper, not in the scientific defense of the theory. - Weston La Barre (Ghost Dance, 1972)
Read the The ScienceMadness Guidelines!
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UKnowNotWatUDo
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Thank you Nicodem. This post is both interesting from a chemistry perspective and entertaining.
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hissingnoise
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| Quote: | | 100 k$ is a good enough motivation. With that money you can actually buy proper equipment and chemicals to make meth on kilogram scale, without using
such idiotic precursors like pseudoephedrine pills. |
The thread title looked a bit ominous - and little did I think I'd end up laughing . . .
Nice one!
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Jon_Swars
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Long live the cooks and all their cooking (and laughing)
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Sedit
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Hmm,
But wouldn't the formation of experiments be cause for a raid? If someone spent there time trying to make Ephedrine hard to extract they would have to
spend there time attempting to extract Ephedrine. As rewarding as this would be it would be mighty dangerous to attempt to collect this bounty.
It seems pointless to worry about extracting it when in theory it would be more practical to hinder its use by the addition of a non toxic amino
alcohol with simular properties of the Ephedrine making it very hard for a cook to extract or use the materials obtained.
All in all it does appear to be a ploy to turn cooks on each other so to speak and get those with the most knowledge of extracting ephedrine to
destroy the chances of the lesser cooks. Shocked they didn't think of this sooner
Knowledge is useless to useless people...
"I see a lot of patterns in our behavior as a nation that parallel a lot of other historical processes. The fall of Rome, the fall of Germany — the
fall of the ruling country, the people who think they can do whatever they want without anybody else's consent. I've seen this story
before."~Maynard James Keenan
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Rogeryermaw
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ok first this is just a joke so no need to tell me how sick i am...i know that already. the trick would be to formulate two types of pseudo pills with
a different additive in each. in a package of say, twenty pills there would be ten of each. safe taken as directed but when the extraction is
attempted, the two chems combine to form a compound that poisons both the cook and the clients. now that's anti cook!
also i have to wonder why they still use cold pills when claritin d has almost a full gram of pseudo sulfate in four pills...240 mg each versus the 30
mg in advil cold n sinus or tylenol ect. ect.
[Edited on 19-5-2011 by Rogeryermaw]
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anotheronebitesthedust
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Not to mention anti anyone who eats more than one pill.
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peach
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Funny!
The deadline is quite close to my birthday, $100k would be a nice present.
How I'm going to get samples of pseudoephedrine from a supplier to supply the ones they want is beyond me. I'd have to cook it out of the pills and
then reblend it.
"What do you want ten packs for sir?"
"An experiment."
"Right...."
"No really."
[Edited on 28-5-2011 by peach]
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Nicodem
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Looks like they got nothing satisfying from the last challenge. Two years have passed and they are repeating it again, and again for 100 k$.
| Quote: |
Pseudoephedrine #2: Outsmarting Methamphetamine Producers
TAGS: Life Sciences, Chemistry, Engineering/Design, Scientific American, RTP
AWARD: $100,000 USD | DEADLINE: 7/30/13 | ACTIVE SOLVERS: 107 | POSTED: 4/30/13
The Seeker desires a method for producing pseudoephedrine products in such a way that it will be extremely difficult for clandestine chemists to
extract and use the pseudoephedrine in the production of the illegal drug methamphetamine. The Seeker may be interested in pursuing further
collaboration with Solvers whose solutions they find promising. The Seeker may also allow Solvers additional time after the submission deadline to
finalize experiments required for the full reduction-to-practice award.
This is a Reduction-to-Practice Challenge that requires a written proposal and experimental proof-of-concept data (and/or sample delivery). In the
absence of a proven solution, however, the Seeker may make a partial award of up to $20,000 USD for a purely theoretical contribution. The Seeker
may, at their sole discretion, attempt to reduce to practice a purely theoretical contribution. If this reduction-to-practice is successful, the
Seeker will make a partial award of $40,000 to the winning Solver.
Source: InnoCentive Challenge ID: 9933386
https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9933386 |
Who would have tough that outsmarting meth cooks is difficult? I guess it just an unfair stereotype the meth cooks are lazy and stupid.
…there is a human touch of the cultist “believer” in every theorist that he must struggle against as being
unworthy of the scientist. Some of the greatest men of science have publicly repudiated a theory which earlier they hotly defended. In this lies their
scientific temper, not in the scientific defense of the theory. - Weston La Barre (Ghost Dance, 1972)
Read the The ScienceMadness Guidelines!
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unionised
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I would have thought it was difficult.
Not least because I know that pseudoephedrine is excreted in urine, largely unmetabolised.
So, if I don't care very much about their health, I can feed these new pills to people and extract the cleaned up material from urine.
I might decide to use a cow rather than people, but the idea is still viable.
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Finnnicus
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I have a lot of things to say about breaking bad. Would you win money if you find a better substance than pseudoephedrine.
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Dr.Bob
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That is interesting, as I know that there has been work in that area as well as opiates to find ways to make the pills "tamper resistant", such that
if you grind up the pills, there are other ingredients which were put in the pill which might be in microencapsulated units (like the old Contact
capsules for those old enough to remember them) which are designed NOT to dissolve in the stomach (maybe wax coated or such), but when you grind them
up, they are then soluble and act as antagonists or such to the main ingredient.
As well, there are some salts and other compounds that interfere with some reductions that could be added to pseudoephedrine to make it harder to
reduce with OTC products. There have been a few groups/institutes/companies working on this in the last few years, likely with little result, based
on the offer being renewed. Most already have DEA licenses, so they can do this work without issue. Not going to be very easy for individuals to
work on this without some risk. Maybe the non-US drug cartels will submit a bid to try to regain some sales.
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Mildronate
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I think nobody coking that way nowdays
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zed
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Phhhtt. If they want my help, they need to make a serious offer. 100K just isn't enough!
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Furboffle
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How impure would it have to be to make it useless for synthesis?
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