How To Extract Cocaine From The Erythroxylaceae Plant Family

An informative easy to follow tutorial with images.

Ingredients

  1. Coca Plant (Erythroxylaceae family)
    2. Image of the coca plant.
  2. Standard Laboratory Equipment like beakers, flasks, meassurment equipment, and PPE.
    3. Image of standard chemistry equipment.
  3. Chemicals
    1. Acetone (C3H6O)
      2. Image of a bottle of acetone.
    2. Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3, common baking soda)
      3. Image of Sodium bicarbonate.

Research Instructions

  1. Harvest the Coca Plant:
    Carefully collect coca leaves, ensuring they are fresh and unblemished.

  2. Extract the Alkaloids from the Coca Leaves:
    Place the coca leaves in a suitable solvent to begin the extraction process. solvents such as kerosene or gasoline are used. This step isolates the raw coca alkaloid for further processing.

  3. Purify the Extract Using Acetone:
    After the initial extraction, purify the crude coca alkaloid using acetone. In a fume hood, mix the alkaloid solution with acetone and allow it to settle. This step enhances the purity of the extract.

  4. Conduct a Basic Chemical Reaction for Further Purification: To convert the purified alkaloid into its freebase form, mix the extract with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). The reaction follows this equation:
    Coc-H+Cl− + NaHCO3 → Coc + H2O + CO2 + NaCl
    This reaction will yield the freebase form of the compound, which can then be subjected to further research processes.