..........⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣾⣉⣠⣏⢉⡉⡳⢦⣄
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⠛⠤⠤⠖⣿⠏⠀ ⣀⠀⣹⣿⠳⣄
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡴⠋⣹⡗⠀⢀⣼⠋⣻⣼⠛⠉⠉⠙⠳⣦⢸⡆
⠀⠀⠀⢀⡴⠋⣉⣉⣁⠀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⠹⢶⣄⣀⣀⣠⣾⣁⣿⡆
.....⢀⣼⠼⣦⣄⣤⡤⠞⠛⠘⠛⣻⠛⠉⠀⠉⢹⡗⠶⣦⡀⠀ ⢹⠀
..⠀ ⠻⣯⣄⠀⠈⠳⣄⡀⠀⠀⣀⣹⣄⣀⢀⣴⠤⠀⠉⠉⠳⢮⣍⣿
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠈⠉⠛⠻⠾⢿⡇⡽⠀⠀⢰⠀⢸⣿⣭⣉⣚⣁⣤⠟
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡾⢱⠇⠀⠀⠀⢸⠉⠉⠉⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣾⣁⣸⣷⠦⣾⣤⣘⣇
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠈⠙⢻⢸⡀⠸⣸⡏⠉
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⢀⠘⣇⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢧⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣦
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠛⠛⠓⠛⠛⠋

.........∩＿＿＿∩
.....| ノ　　　　 ヽ../⌒)
... /⌒) (ﾟ)　　(ﾟ)　|　.|　　　　　▂ 　▂▄▅▆▇■▀▀〓◣▬▪ ▪ ￭ … ．
.../　/　 ( _●_)　 ミ/　　．▂▅■▀ ▪ ￭　▂¨ ∵▃ ▪ ・
.（　　ヽ|∪|　　／　　　◢▇█▀　¨▂▄▅▆▇██■■〓◥◣▄
....＼　　 ヽノ　/　　￭ ▂▅██▅▆▇██■〓▀▀ ◥◣ ∴ ▪ ．
...../　　　　/　▅▇███████▀ ▪ ∴ …．▅　￭　 ◥◣
....|　　　_つ◥▅▆▇████████▆▃▂　 ▪ ￭▂▄▃▄▂
....|　 /ω＼　＼ ￭　 ¨ ▀▀▀■▀▀▀ ▪ ￭ ∴‥
....|　/ 　　　 )　 )
.....∪　 　　 （　 ＼
　　　　 　　 ＼＿)

There are many ways to make methamphetamine, and each has its own risks and advantages. In Europe, two main methods exist, classified according to the chemicals used as starting materials, known as precursors. One method is based on ephedrine or pseudoephedrine which can be imported in bulk powder or extracted from medicinal products or even from ephedra plants. This method is hazardous and difficult to scale up; in Europe, it is mostly used in small- to medium-scale ‘kitchen’ laboratories in and around Czechia, where precursors extracted from medicines are typically used. This method produces the potent d-isomer form of methamphetamine (d-methamphetamine (1). The other method uses BMK (also called benzyl methyl ketone, or phenyl-2-propanone, ‘P-2-P’), an oil that can be imported to the EU or made in Europe from chemicals known as designer precursors (also called pre-precursors).

This method is more amenable to scaling up and is therefore suitable for use in industrial-scale laboratories, as has been observed in the Netherlands and Belgium. Its main disadvantage is that the resulting product is a 50:50 mixture of the d- and l-isomers, the l-methamphetamine being a less desirable product. This means an additional step is needed at the end of the synthesis to separate and purify the potent (hence preferred) illicit product: d-methamphetamine. Techniques to perform this separation have been used in illicit production laboratories in Mexico since at least 2009 (INCB, 2017) and more recently in the Netherlands and Belgium. Recent data also shows that European BMK-based laboratories have further increased the efficiency and output of production by recycling the unwanted l-methamphetamine to obtain more d-methamphetamine for each litre of BMK used (see Section Recycling unwanted by-product: a game-changer in methamphetamine production).

BMK methods, typically found in the Netherlands and Belgium

BMK has limited legitimate uses; in Europe it is mostly used to produce amphetamine, and increasingly, for the production of methamphetamine. BMK may be imported to the EU but it is more often produced locally from pre-precursors.