Commentary
Nine reasons why ecstasy is not quite what it used to be

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Abstract

This paper explores the recent resurgence in use of ecstasy/MDMA in Europe and highlights keys areas of continuity and divergence between the ecstasy market of the 1990s and the current MDMA market. Based on a scoping study involving a targeted multi-source data collection exercise on MDMA, it highlights nine areas that have undergone some level of change, linked with both supply and demand for the drug. Factors discussed include: innovation in production techniques; changes in precursor chemical availability; the role of online markets; competition with other stimulants and new psychoactive substances; the increased availability of high-strength MDMA; and the shift from subcultural towards more mainstream use of the drug. The paper proposes that the MDMA on Europe’s contemporary market is in some respects a third generation product with a different consumer profile, with implications that responses developed at the time of the drug’s earlier iteration, may be in need of a review and revamp.

Section snippets

MDMA in Europe

In this paper we focus on the recent re-emergence of MDMA on Europe’s drug market, and explore the continuity and important changes evident when considered alongside the historical peak of ecstasy use in the late 1980s and 1990s. Taken together, recent developments appear to be more generally illustrative of ways in which the modern illicit drug market has evolved, including continuities alongside some significant changes in manufacture, marketing to demand and consumption patterns.

MDMA

Innovation in precursors, pre-precursors and routes of synthesis

One of the most striking changes between the 1990s and present day MDMA market is linked to availability of precursors. Traditionally, MDMA precursors such as safrole (3,4-methylenedioxyallybenzene, a liquid extracted from sassafras plants) and PMK (piperonyl methyl ketone, itself derived from safrole) have been imported from Asia to production sites in Europe (EMCDDA, 2013). Indeed, a shortage of safrole from 2008 onwards has been associated with the development of new alternative substances,

Industrial scale and flexible production processes

A small number of organised crime groups have historically been linked to the production of MDMA in Europe, with facilities primarily based in the Netherlands and Belgium (EMCDDA, 2016b). The predominant synthesis technique used is reductive amination. A number of new developments appear to be specifically linked with the increased production of high-quality MDMA products. These include reports of more sophisticated and industrial-scale MDMA labs and increasing production expertise. For

A more globalised market place

Until recently, facilities in the Netherlands and Belgium have represented the major global MDMA production hub, with products trafficked by crime groups primarily to European and North American markets. In recent years, however, reports of significant production taking place outside of Europe, including in Canada, the US and China (UNODC, 2015) have also now become more common.

Despite this development, a significant proportion of the MDMA manufactured in Europe still appears to be intended for

Changes in MDMA tablet content and adulterants

MDMA was the original psychoactive chemical in ecstasy tablets, often along with adulterants such as caffeine. Prior to 2005 most tablets tested in Europe contained MDMA or another MDMA-like substance (MDEA, MDA) as the only psychoactive ingredient. In France, for example, the SINTES monitoring system reported that 82% of more than 7000 tablets collected and analysed between 1999 and 2004 contained MDMA (Giraudon and Bello, 2003, Giraudon and Bello, 2007). Changes occurring in the mid to late

High MDMA content products available

In the 1990s and 2000s the average MDMA content of ecstasy tablets was somewhere between 50 and 80 mg, as reported by drug checking services and forensic institutes (Wood et al., 2011). Tablets with more than 150 mg of MDMA were very rare before 2005 (Giraudon and Bello, 2003, Giraudon and Bello, 2007). At present, the averages are closer to 125 mg MDMA per tablet, while there are also ‘super pills’ found on the market in some countries with a reported range of 270–340 mg. There are also reports

Molly, Mandy, crystal: new names and new products

A key feature of the contemporary MDMA market has been the creative and sometimes aggressive marketing of products. The use of iconic logos for MDMA tablet brands has always been popular, however, the recent trend is for tablets to be produced in the particular shape of the logo, and in a variety of bright and even fluorescent colours. MDMA tablets are also now commissioned, produced and tailored for specific events, typically electronic dance music festivals. A sharp increase in the number of

Increasing importance of the internet drug markets

Major advances in communication technology that have taken place since the 1980s have had a clear impact on illicit drug markets, carving a space in terms of providing platforms for sale, information exchange as well as health and social interventions geared towards drug use. MDMA is one of the most popular drugs bought through online and anonymised darknet markets. These markets (the now defunct Silk Road being the best documented) exist on the deep web, an area of the internet that has been

A shift from subcultural towards more mainstream use

Among the European countries that have produced new surveys since 2014, results suggest a recent overall increase in the prevalence of MDMA use in Europe, with five countries reporting higher estimates, nine relatively stable trends and no decreases, when compared to previous comparable surveys. Across Europe there appears to be time differences in prevalence increases, with countries such as the Netherlands and the United Kingdom reporting earlier rises, than others. Some countries such as

A more complex stimulants markets with NPS

Overall in Europe, both the illicit drug market and patterns of drug use are now probably more dynamic and complex than in the first iteration of ecstasy use in the1980s and 1990s. Use of illicit stimulants varies by country and culture, and the degree of market stability versus change may vary considerably at this national level. Nevertheless from a European perspective, cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines can be seen to be competing and sometimes interchangeable products, with consumer choices

Conclusion — a third generation product?

Whilst important, the narrative and analysis presented here are based on a mixed method, multi-source data collection, and will require further documentation and elaboration to confirm the findings. A particular limitation is the overall dearth of epidemiological data and studies documenting the patterns and trends in Europe’s ecstasy and MDMA market from the 1980s to the present day.

If correct, however, this analysis suggests that Europe’s ecstasy/MDMA market is characterised by both

Conflict of interest

None declared.

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