Why does making cocaine require such toxic chemicals, is there safer way to make it in a lab?

Question

I’ve watched many documentaries on how they make cocaine, and it always required a a mixture of gasoline cement and battery acid etc. Would a scientific laboratory be able to make it under FDA rules for example?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

I’ve heard they used aether in the past and that since the quality has gone down. So, maybe its recent changes have been to replace that and replicate its effects. Regardless, people are always tinkering to make things more effective.