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Two Chemistry Professors in Arkansas Arrested on Suspicion of Making Meth

Two Chemistry Professors in Arkansas Arrested on Suspicion of Making Meth

“arrested on suspicion of manufacturing methamphetamine and use of drug paraphernalia”

This is like Breaking Bad in real life. To make matters worse, the alleged activity was happening in the school science center.

Action News JAX reports:

Two university chemistry professors arrested on suspicion of making meth

A pair of chemistry professors at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, were arrested on suspicion of manufacturing methamphetamine and use of drug paraphernalia.

The university’s Reynolds Science Center was forced to close last month when a staff member reported “an undetermined chemical odor,” according to KTHV. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and state police determined the chemical to be benzyl chloride, which can be used to synthesize amphetamines.

A press release sent to KATV from the Clark County Sheriff’s Department said Terry David Bateman, 45, and Bradley Allen Rowland, 40 were arrested Friday afternoon on suspicion of making meth in the university’s science center.

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Comments

The police would need much more evidence than what is mentioned in this news report. Benzyl chloride is a common reagent that would be found in nearly all organic chemistry labs in the country. It is used in a wide variety of syntheses that require a reactive alkyl halide, and its penetrating odor is common in laboratories.

The police would need to prove at least some effort to make P2P (phenyl-2-propanone or phenylacetone), which is the (controlled) substance needed for the most efficient methamphetamine synthesis. Frankly, there are better methods to make P2P, for example starting with phenylacetic acid. See:
https://www.designer-drug.com/pte/12.162.180.114/dcd/chemistry/phenylacetone.html

Any decent Junior or Senior chemistry major would have the skills needed to make methamphetamine, whose synthesis is a common example in organic chemistry textbooks. You don’t need two professors to play the part of Heisenberg (Walter White).

It will be interesting to see what additional evidence comes out in this case. So far, I’m not convinced.

    Evidence? You don’t need no stank’n evidence in colleges. I’m guessing that the two profs offended the decency or sensibility of some pitiful SJW or budding you Activist. Hell, as much as using an invented pronoun is sufficient basis from which to commence a community hanging.

    OTOH, Henderson is a well esteemed institution.