Illicit Use of Hydroiodic Acid
Hydriodic acid is currently listed as a Federal DEA List I Chemical. Owing to its usefulness as a reducing agent, reduction with HI and red phosphorus has become the most popular method to produce methamphetamine in the United States. Clandestine operators react pseudoephedrine (recovered from decongestant pills) with hydroiodic acid and red phosphorus under heat, HI reacts with pseudoephedrine to form iodoephedrine, an intermediate which is reduced primarily to methamphetamine.
Because of its listed status and closely monitored sales, clandestine operators now use red phosphorus and iodine to generate hydroiodic acid in situ.
Read more about this topic: Hydrogen Iodide
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