A Cold Water Extraction, or CWE for short, is primarily used to separate tylenol from opiate-based
pain-relievers because tylenol is known to be damaging to the liver in large doses, so CWE's are what you use when your doctor is a complete
asshole and prescribes you weak
pain medication. Opiates dissolve readily in cold water, while tylenol seeps to the
bottom.
The CWE process goes as follows:
1. Crush up said pills (Vicodin, Percocets, etc.) into as fine of a powder as possible. You should be doing one CWE for no more than five pills at once.
2. Take about 150mL of water and bring it to a warm temperature--make
sure it is not
hot or the opiate will be destroyed and your efforts compromised. You should be able to stuck your
finger in the water and hold it there comfortably. Think of about the same temperature as a heated pool.
3. Mix the powder in with the warm water and stir.
4. Put the glass in the freezer and let it
chill for about 30 minutes.
5. Take it out and filter the water through a coffee filter into an empty glass. What you see in the
bottom of the first glass in the freezer when you first take it out is the APAP. If you're doing a CWE, you
don't want that, so filter through a coffee filter. Pour carefully and slowly. Make
sure you have the coffee filter secured.
6. Lastly, to speed up the process, gently squeeze the coffee filter to empty any remaining water into the glass.
And you're done. The result is a slightly cloudy mixture, but will taste bitter.
