Like any illicit drug that is
manufactured in crude backyard labs,
there is not much in the way of quality
control. While the active ingredient in
ecstasy is meant to be MDMA, most
pills don’t actually contain it. Why?
Well, it’s difficult to gain access to the
base chemicals required to manufacture
and it is tricky to synthesise
chemically. Most pill-makers are
using unsophisticated equipment and
aren’t averse to cutting costs wherever
possible.
Keep in mind, no matter what your
dealer or mate who sold you the pills
might think or say, it is very doubtful
even he or she really knows the
origins of the merchandise, let alone
be qualified to vouch for their quality.
Usually, they’re just repeating what
they’ve been told from whoever gave
them the pills. What that all means
is, instead of buying MDMA, you’re
more likely to be scoring a cocktail
of methampthetamine and other
synthetic hallucinogens, including
Paramethoxyamphetamines (PMA).
Other cheap ingredients used to pad
out ecstasy pills can include caffeine,
ketamine (a horse tranquiliser),
paracetamol and ibuprofen.