There are various ways that illicit drug manufacturers create blue meth. Some manufacturers mix regular crystal meth with either blue chalk or food dye to create the color, while others use a more complex process involving a reduction of pseudoephedrine or ephedrine with battery acid or ammonia. The reduction is used as part of a combination of phenylacetone (P2P) and methylamine. In theory, the latter creates a purer form of meth that also circumvents the DEA’s crackdown on products containing pseudoephedrine. However, research has not shown any evidence that blue meth is purer or more powerful than other forms of crystal meth.