From "Journal or Forensic Science", Vol. 40, No. 4, July 1995, pp 551- 560 "Ephedra's Role As a Precursor in the Clandestine Manufacture of Methamphetamine ... [page 554] Synthesizing Methamphetamine with Ephedra Approximately 425 grams of ground ephedra plant material was washed three times with methanol.  The methanol washings were collected and allowed to evaporate to produce a greenish brown tar like substance.  to this material was added 250 mL of 57% solution of hydroiodic acid and 9.5 grams of red phosphorus in 1000 mL round-bottomed flask.  The flask was equipped with a working condenser and heating mantle. The mixture was heated and allowed to reflux for approximately 5 hours.  The aqueous reaction solution was filtered made basic with NaOH (pH >12), then extracted into trichlorotriflouroethane (Freon 113).  The organic solution was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4.  Hydrogen chloride gas was then bubbled into the freon, resulting in the crystallization of the final product as the hydrochloride salt [8,12]. Samples of the reaction mixture were taken at various times throughout the synthesis.  These samples were basified, extracted in methylene chloride, and analyzed on the GC-IRD and GS-MSD.  Samples were taken at 60, 127, 310 minutes into the reaction synthesis. Results and Discussion The reduction of ephedra with hydroiodic acid and red phosphorus results in the production d-methamphetamine, d-amphetamine and of N,N-dimethylamphetamine [8,13-15]. ...  Takamatsu [16] reported that phenylpropanolamine derivatives will convert to P2P when heated with strong acids.  ..."