[appropriate]

I'm working for a non-profit harm-reduction and i'm not sure my topic would follow the rules.
I have understood that i take some posts to be allowed to pm, but all of my current (and possibly futur) questions are related to my work, so i'd like to be able to pm a moderator for pre-publication checking .

[Borek]

You won't be able to PM anyone yet. Feel free to ask your question in this thread, worst you risk is that it will be deleted.

[appropriate]

The transformation of cocaine in crack cocain is made by a process consisting of mixing water, cocaine and baking soda. From what i've understood, the basicity of baking soda allow it to deprotonize the amine of the cocaine, transforming it in it's basic form.



I've heard many times from drug users that the process also purify the cocaine of it's adulterants.

Would the freebasing process also transform some alduterants to freebase in the process ?

 After checking the adulterants, i wonder if some adulterants might also transform in their basic form during the process, especialy some adulterants being structurally close to cocaine and also having an amine like :

 Lidocaïne :


Procaïne :


Or Phenacetine :


or Paracetamol :


I apologize for the unequal size of the image, i've found them all online

[Borek]

Please note: we don't discuss drugs, so this question is in general risky.

As long we stay on the theoretical side of the discussion I am going to leave it open.

Broadly speaking - every acid/base is similar, the most important part being their pKa/pKb differences. They will all react in a similar way, although details will depend of their relative strengths.

[mjc123]

Your diagram has the arrows the wrong way round. NaOH converts the hydrochloride to the base; HCl vice versa.

[Babcock_Hall]

To restate what Borek said, not all of your example molecules will gain or lose a proton with equal ease; you have to treat them on a case-by-case basis.