Blue Crystal Meth: What Is It?

Blue meth is a type of crystal methamphetamine with a uniquely blue color, as opposed to traditional crystal meth, which is usually clear and has a slight yellow tint.

It is an extremely pure form of meth, much more so than most street-quality products, and is free from many of the impurities found in ‘pre-cut’ methamphetamine.

Because of its purity, blue meth can only be produced in an extremely clean and high-quality meth lab, which makes it difficult to produce, since most meth labs are simple and domestic.

How Blue Crystal Meth Is Made

Traditional crystal meth is made of a mixture of over-the-counter drugs, including pseudoephedrine, which is a decongestant found in medications such as Sudafed.

By making a reduction of pseudoephedrine or ephedrine with battery acid or ammonia, a certain isomer, called the d-methamphetamine isomer, is produced.

This is preferred over the l-methamphetamine isomer because of its purity and superior high-production qualities.

Since pseudoephedrine is known by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to be a critical component in the creation of meth, it has been placed on a careful watch list.

To circumvent the necessity of pseudoephedrine, a different method is used to combine phenylacetone (P2P) with methylamine, producing a 99.1% pure meth product.

Where Blue Crystal Meth Comes From

As real-life interest began to take hold in the drug, methamphetamine use levels skyrocketed due to budding superlabs in Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.

In 2010, law enforcement seized 40 pounds of blue meth in Utah and Kansas and suspected the drug dealers of trying to mimic the ‘Blue Sky’ found in Breaking Bad.

In other instances, the drug, also nicknamed ‘smurf’, was dyed blue to avoid detection in drug tests, as field tests generally turn blue when meth is discovered.

Since blue meth is already blue, it complicates the accuracy of the field test but is unlikely to get anybody off the hook for meth possession.

Albuquerque, New Mexico Drug Dealers

Blue meth saw a rise in production following the debut of Breaking Bad, and drug traffickers began producing the product in order to entice fans of the show.

However, it was precisely 0% more potent and no less contaminated. In fact, the blue dyes used to fake the real-world process of making blue meth were actually making people sick.

Mexican Drug Cartels

Drug cartels in Mexico saw blue meth as the next ‘big thing’, and began to pump it into the United States.

From 2009 on, blue meth use continued to climb as the holes in the Mexican justice system allowed large quantities of chemicals to be purchased without suspicion.

Why People Use Blue Crystal Meth

The popularity of Breaking Bad enticed many people to try the drug, deeming it ‘sexy’ and ‘fun’—which drug producers immediately latched on to, and began to create it in earnest.

This seriously alarmed law enforcement, as it reintroduced and popularized meth in the public eye, which in turn created a new group of naive people using meth.

Breaking Bad Television Series

Blue meth originated as a result of the character Walter White’s ingenuity as a man of chemistry.
Realizing he lacked one of the main ingredients necessary for meth, pseudoephedrine, Walter gets creative and discovers a different way to synthesize the drug.

White, known simply as ‘Walt’, invented a new method of chemical synthesis to bypass the necessity of purchasing watch-listed ingredients while simultaneously making purer meth.

Reputation Of High-Quality Blue Crystal Meth

The reputation of high-quality meth is one of infamy, as manufacturing pure meth is extremely time-consuming and difficult to make while also drawing suspicion.

Sometimes, meth is laced with fentanyl and other drugs and chemicals, making each dose difficult to regulate, which can lead to accidental overdoses—even upon first-time use.

Slang Terms For Blue Crystal Meth

Over the years, slang terms for meth that is blue have included ‘Smurf’ and ‘Blue Sky’—the latter of which originates from the show. It is occasionally known simply as ‘Blue.’

Does Blue Crystal Meth Have The Same Side Effects As Meth?

Yes and no. Because most blue meth is really a farce, it has the same effects as traditional meth.

However, the chemical dyes used to colorize meth have been known to make people who use it extremely sick.