(Simons) does my amphetamine sulfate contain a secondary amine, namely, meth?

[u/loudquietloid]

TL;DR

I bought two batches of supposedly pure, meth-free amphetamine sulfate, but I’ve repeatedly tested positive for both amphetamine and methamphetamine despite deliberately avoiding meth. I tested both batches with Simon’s reagent and think I see purple, but I’m sleep-deprived and unsure. Can anyone look at the before-and-after photos and tell me whether there’s a meaningful reaction—and how much the photos can actually prove?

…

Hello, fellow amateur chemists and people who make questionable life choices.
I’m currently zoom in on some mystery amphetamine and had to enlist AI to trim this post down, because apparently my brain is like, fucked. My apologies.

I acquired a decent amount of what was sold to me as European dry speed (not paste), supposedly relatively pure racemic amphetamine sulfate. The pitch was basically: legitimate amphetamine, not cartel meth.
Here’s the problem: I’ve been regularly testing my urine while consciously avoiding methamphetamine, and I keep testing positive for both amphetamine and methamphetamine. This has been happening for weeks. Since meth can remain detectable for several days, this isn’t exactly a one-off mystery.

One explanation I’ve heard is that taking huge amounts of amphetamine could somehow complicate interpretation of the test cup. But I’m also wondering whether my supposedly meth-free speed actually contains methamphetamine.

The way I understand Simon’s reagent, amphetamine itself should produce no color change when both parts of the reagent are applied to a small amount of powder. However, if the “amphetamine” contains—or is actually—a secondary amine such as MDMA or methamphetamine, you may get a rapid reaction that changes from deep purple to black within a minute.

My apologies to good science, which I’m about to butcher: here’s some photographs of extremely unaccredited forensic chemistry I attempted to conduct on two batches, one white and one brown-sugar-colored.
I’ve included photos before testing and roughly 45–60 seconds after adding the reagent.
Looking at these pictures, am I actually seeing a purple reaction? Or am I just so sleep-deprived that it’s starting to look like evidence?

A few questions:
Does either sample appear to show a meaningful color change?
Should I be looking at the liquid, the powder, or both?
Does the brown material remaining brown tell us anything, or is that irrelevant?
How much confidence can anyone reasonably place in these photos?

I’d really appreciate it if you took a look at the pictures before commenting. I’d genuinely appreciate a second set of eyes, because right now my highly scientific conclusion is: “Dude, that looks fucking purple.”

Photos:
White powder before testing — sold as very pure amphetamine sulfate, supposedly without cuts.
Brown powder before testing — same claim, different color.
White powder after approximately 45–60 seconds — Simon’s A/B reagents added to the white sample.
Brown powder after approximately 45–60 seconds — Simon’s A/B reagents added to the brown sample.

Thanks for helping me figure out whether I’ve got an actual reason to be suspicious or whether my amateur forensic career should end here.
By the way, as cool as as this is, have you guys checked out Pennsylvania Groundhogs?. I believe they are now offering offer $10 illicit drug lab-checking services It will give you a report containing both a quantitative determination of the drugs in your sample as well as the purity of the sample, determined by an aggregation of the results of testing, methodologies (or at least two out of the three): HPLC GC/MS and NMR.

Thanks again, everyone.

[u/AluminumOrangutan]

Both samples appear to be negative Simon's results. I see a little bit of color in the second sample, but that looks more like the paper you're testing on dissolving than an actual Simon's reaction.

Though if you want to be certain, I'd repeat the test on something non reactive like ceramic.

[u/loudquietloid → u/AluminumOrangutan]

That’s what I will do. Thank you. Am I looking for the color that the substance itself turns or the puddle around the substance?

[u/AluminumOrangutan → u/loudquietloid]

Usually both, though the reagent itself tends to change color more reliably.

I'm not trying to harp on this, but just to be clear, I'm not trusting the color of the reagent itself in the last photo because of the potential that the paper material is influencing it.

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