Phenylacetone (P2P, BMK)
Definition
1-phenyl-2-propanone; the key precursor in the Leuckart and reductive amination routes to amphetamine and methamphetamine. Controlled under UN 1988 Convention Table I, EU Drug Precursors Regulation, and NDPS Schedule III (India) as a controlled precursor.
- Chemical name
- 1-phenyl-2-propanone
- Role
- Key precursor for amphetamine and methamphetamine synthesis
- Routes
- Leuckart reaction and reductive amination
- UN control
- 1988 Convention, Table I
- India control
- NDPS Schedule III
Common questions
Why is P2P control considered a bottleneck strategy against meth production?+
Because P2P sits upstream of both the Leuckart and reductive amination routes, restricting its legitimate trade is meant to choke off multiple synthesis pathways at once rather than policing each finished drug separately.
How do investigators distinguish legitimate P2P use from diversion?+
P2P has limited legitimate industrial demand, so regulators track import, export, and purchase quantities against declared legitimate use, and unexplained large or repeated orders trigger scrutiny under precursor control regimes.
Does controlling P2P stop clandestine amphetamine production entirely?+
No; traffickers have shifted toward alternative precursors and pre-precursors that are harder to control, which is why precursor lists are periodically expanded to cover new substitute chemicals.
Related terms
- Chirasil-DEX CB
- A cyclodextrin-based chiral gas chromatography column (Agilent) used for baseline resolution of d- and l-methamphetamine and d- and l-amphetamine enantiomers in forensic...
- Compound-Specific IRMS (CSIA)
- A technique combining preparative GC separation with isotope ratio mass spectrometry to measure 13C/12C and D/H ratios in individual compounds (e.g. the...
- Enantiomeric Excess (Ee)
- A measure of chiral purity: ee (%) = (R - S)/(R + S) x 100, where R and S are the measured...
- Erythroxylum Coca
- The principal alkaloid-bearing species of the coca genus, native to the Andean highlands. The dominant species in illicit cocaine production is E....
- Levamisole
- A veterinary antihelminthic found as an adulterant in approximately 80 per cent of cocaine seizures in North America and Western Europe since...
- Pasta Base (Coca Paste)
- The intermediate product in cocaine extraction: cocaine sulphate precipitated from the acid-wash aqueous layer after solvent extraction, at 40-90 per cent purity....
- PMK-Glycidate
- Piperonylmethylketone (PMK) glycidate ester; a PMK substitute used as the principal MDMA precursor in European clandestine labs after PMK was scheduled. Added...
- Safrole
- 4-allyl-1,2-methylenedioxybenzene; extracted from sassafras oil (Cinnamomum camphora, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brazil) and the original MDMA precursor. Controlled under UN 1988 Convention Table I;...
- Scott Test
- A three-step cobalt thiocyanate presumptive test for cocaine and its salts. Step 1: cobalt thiocyanate reagent (blue in aqueous phase). Step 2:...