IS IT REALLY ECSTASY?

IS IT REALLY ECSTASY?

Many other substances have been identified in pills sold as Ecstasy. In fact, a 2006 survey of results from the DanceSafe website that tests Ecstasy pills showed that about 40 percent of the pills submitted to the site were entirely MDMA, a little over half contained at least some MDMA, and about half contained no MDMA at all. This survey probably contains more fake pills than average, because a certain number were submitted to the site because users suspected that they were not MDMA. However, the chances of getting something that is not MDMA are pretty good. Sometimes you get some­thing that is less dangerous than MDMA, such as caffeine or dextromethor­phan, but methamphetamine, MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine), and MDE (methylenedioxyethylamphetamine) are also common contaminants. A partial list of contaminants includes methamphetamine, dextrornethor­phan, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, caffeine, MDA, some minor hallucino­gens, and ketamine. A related drug, paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA), has also been identified. PMA is a similar stimulant-like drug that causes toxic­ity at doses closer to recreational doses, but it is not a common contaminant in the United States.

Molly is supposedly a Mrin of MDMA that is completely 100 percent pure MDMA. This is not true. The same website reported analyses of samples that were submitted as Molly, and constituents included inethy­lone (a new "bath salt" with MDMA-like effects); MDA (methylenedioxy­amphetamine—a close relative of MDMA); mCPP, TFMPP, or BZP (metachlorophenylpiperazine, trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine, or Ben­zylpiperazine—piperazine compounds with actions that overlap with but are not identical to MDMA); the anesthetic ketamine; cocaine; metham­phetamine; or caffeine. The following discussion, as well as the "Stimu­lants" and "Hallucinogens" chapters, will dispel the myth that MDMA is safe and that only its contaminants are dangerous.