Dodgy drugs emerge at festivals
Chemicals can have long-lasting sideeffects on takers
People at summer festivals are being warned of an “incredibly dangerous” substitute increasingly turning up in MDMA being tested. Know Your Stuff, which runs a drug-testing service at festivals, said its clinics over the past few months had reported an increasing number of cases where what people thought would be pure MDMA — also known as ecstasy, of molly — either turned out to be just cathinones or had just enough MDMA to “spoof” the tests.
Synthetic cathinones, also known colloquially as “bath salts”, have a similar euphoric onset to MDMA but wear off faster, leading people to redose, running into trouble.
However, other effects are more potent, and can lead to anxiety, paranoia, gastric distress, seizures, or respiratory failure.
Mephedrone, a common cathinone found in New Zealand, has been linked to several deaths in Britain and Europe.
Toxic industrial chemical methylenedianiline was found this month being sold in place of MDMA in Auckland.
Know Your Stuff warned that the chemical has been linked to several poisoning cases in Auckland where the patients suffered liver damage.
Know Your Stuff deputy manager Dr Jez Weston said it was likely used as MDMA simply because it was available on the illicit market.
The organisation had found the substitute in testing right across the nation, and testers were already seeing more than last year, Weston said.
They’d found cathinones in pressed pills and crystal form.
The more common ones found in New Zealand include N-ethyl pentylone, mephedrone and eutylone.
On rare occasions methylone, mexedrone, 4-methylmethcathinone, MDPV, and Alpha-PVP have also been found.
Cathinones are usually more potent than MDMA, so what a person might think was a manageable amount could be dangerous.
Cathinone effects last between two and five hours, but after-effects — including sleeplessness — generally last from six to 24 hours.
Taking more of the drug will extend these after-effects.
One person who presumed they had weak MDMA and took several doses experienced what they called “48 hours of hell” from what turned out to be eutylone. There was no way to visibly tell the difference, and Know Your Stuff recommended people visit its testing sites if possible, or buy their own reagent tests.
“Cathinones are incredibly dangerous, and we’d rather see you regularly in the checking tent summer after summer than in hospital even once,” Weston said.
“We’ll be busy this summer at festivals up and down the country and looking forward to being more open about what we are doing.”
Health Minister Andrew Little’s Drug and Substance Checking Legislation Bill passed this month.
The bill changes the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Psychoactive Substances Act to allow people to get their drugs tested at festivals without prosecution and permits event organisers to host testers.
The bill will expire in 12 months, with Little committing to bringing in a permanent change before then..