Putting an Ecstasy Test Kit to the Test
Putting an Ecstasy Test Kit to the Test
Objective: To evaluate the DanceSafe Complete Adulterant Screening Kit for Ecstasy with regard to its accuracy in identifying 3,4-methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine (MDMA) and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) derivatives and its ability to detect certain contaminants.
Methods: In part I, 39 street-grade tablets purported to be MDMA were tested with the Marquis, Mecke, and Simon's reagents provided by the DanceSafe testing kit. The tablets then were submitted to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for identification of active ingredients. In part II, seven known drugs of abuse were tested with the Marquis, Mecke, and Simon's reagents. These drugs were codeine, dextromethorphan, dihydrocodeine, ketamine, MDMA, morphine, and d-norpropoxyphene.
Results: The Marquis, Mecke, and Simon's reagents did not differentiate pure MDMA from adulterated forms. They lacked both sensitivity and specificity for the purpose of MDMA identification when tested by persons unfamiliar with these reagents. Also, experienced toxicologists using this unfamiliar procedure generated false-positive results.
Conclusions: Neither the Marquis, Mecke, nor Simon's reagents should be used by the public for harm reduction purposes. These agents do not help identify pure MDMA tablets. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry remains the most sensitive and specific testing method for identifying MDMA and its contaminants.
Recent years have seen a rise in the use of the club drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy). The Drug Abuse Warning Network reports that nationwide hospital emergency room mentions for Ecstasy rose sharply from 637 in 1997 to 5542 in 2001. Use of MDMA is prevalent among children and young adults, with 8.2% of 12th graders, 5.4% of 10th graders, and 3.1% of 8th graders reporting MDMA use within the past year. Eleven percent of high school seniors report having tried MDMA. Another sign of the prevalence of MDMA use is that the Drug Enforcement Administration seized over 7.2 million dosage units of MDMA in 2001.
Although MDMA itself is a dangerous drug, additional problems arise from contaminants found in street samples and from counterfeit tablets -- tablets in which other ingredients have been substituted for MDMA. Because these drugs are produced in clandestine laboratories, they are seldom pure, and the amount of drug in a capsule or tablet is likely to vary considerably from one source to another. Three drugs known to be mixed with or substituted for MDMA are paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA, a stimulant similar in effect to MDMA), dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant with dissociative effects in high doses), and methamphetamine (speed, crystal meth, or crank). According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, methamphetamine is the club drug responsible for the largest number of emergency department mentions.
Recently, 10 people from Orlando, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois, died after consuming PMA that was mistaken for MDMA. Partly due to the widespread media attention received by these deaths and other deaths in Europe and Australia, certain organizations loosely referred to as "harm reduction" groups began promoting colorimetric test kits for differentiating between authentic MDMA and contaminated or adulterated products. The first kits contained only the Marquis reagent ( Table 1 ), a screening reagent routinely used by law enforcement agencies and crime laboratories. However, interpretation of the Marquis colorimetric test is subjective and can be difficult for health care professionals and lay persons alike. Therefore, in an attempt to decrease the subjectivity involved in result interpretation, as well as to increase accuracy, the Mecke and Simon's reagents were added to these commercially available testing kits ( Table 1 ).
Many dangers are associated with field drug testing. Most test users are young and inexperienced, and may perform the tests under the intoxicating effects of ethanol or other drugs. In addition, these tests may lack the precision (reproducibility) and accuracy (correct identification) necessary to positively predict the purity of the MDMA tablet. Further, since users regard MDMA as a benign drug, the temptation will be to assume the pill being evaluated is MDMA, even though the subjective test results may be questionable. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the DanceSafe field testing kit's accuracy in identifying MDMA and MDA derivatives and its ability to detect certain contaminants.
Objective: To evaluate the DanceSafe Complete Adulterant Screening Kit for Ecstasy with regard to its accuracy in identifying 3,4-methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine (MDMA) and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) derivatives and its ability to detect certain contaminants.
Methods: In part I, 39 street-grade tablets purported to be MDMA were tested with the Marquis, Mecke, and Simon's reagents provided by the DanceSafe testing kit. The tablets then were submitted to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for identification of active ingredients. In part II, seven known drugs of abuse were tested with the Marquis, Mecke, and Simon's reagents. These drugs were codeine, dextromethorphan, dihydrocodeine, ketamine, MDMA, morphine, and d-norpropoxyphene.
Results: The Marquis, Mecke, and Simon's reagents did not differentiate pure MDMA from adulterated forms. They lacked both sensitivity and specificity for the purpose of MDMA identification when tested by persons unfamiliar with these reagents. Also, experienced toxicologists using this unfamiliar procedure generated false-positive results.
Conclusions: Neither the Marquis, Mecke, nor Simon's reagents should be used by the public for harm reduction purposes. These agents do not help identify pure MDMA tablets. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry remains the most sensitive and specific testing method for identifying MDMA and its contaminants.
Recent years have seen a rise in the use of the club drug 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy). The Drug Abuse Warning Network reports that nationwide hospital emergency room mentions for Ecstasy rose sharply from 637 in 1997 to 5542 in 2001. Use of MDMA is prevalent among children and young adults, with 8.2% of 12th graders, 5.4% of 10th graders, and 3.1% of 8th graders reporting MDMA use within the past year. Eleven percent of high school seniors report having tried MDMA. Another sign of the prevalence of MDMA use is that the Drug Enforcement Administration seized over 7.2 million dosage units of MDMA in 2001.
Although MDMA itself is a dangerous drug, additional problems arise from contaminants found in street samples and from counterfeit tablets -- tablets in which other ingredients have been substituted for MDMA. Because these drugs are produced in clandestine laboratories, they are seldom pure, and the amount of drug in a capsule or tablet is likely to vary considerably from one source to another. Three drugs known to be mixed with or substituted for MDMA are paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA, a stimulant similar in effect to MDMA), dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant with dissociative effects in high doses), and methamphetamine (speed, crystal meth, or crank). According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, methamphetamine is the club drug responsible for the largest number of emergency department mentions.
Recently, 10 people from Orlando, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois, died after consuming PMA that was mistaken for MDMA. Partly due to the widespread media attention received by these deaths and other deaths in Europe and Australia, certain organizations loosely referred to as "harm reduction" groups began promoting colorimetric test kits for differentiating between authentic MDMA and contaminated or adulterated products. The first kits contained only the Marquis reagent ( Table 1 ), a screening reagent routinely used by law enforcement agencies and crime laboratories. However, interpretation of the Marquis colorimetric test is subjective and can be difficult for health care professionals and lay persons alike. Therefore, in an attempt to decrease the subjectivity involved in result interpretation, as well as to increase accuracy, the Mecke and Simon's reagents were added to these commercially available testing kits ( Table 1 ).
Many dangers are associated with field drug testing. Most test users are young and inexperienced, and may perform the tests under the intoxicating effects of ethanol or other drugs. In addition, these tests may lack the precision (reproducibility) and accuracy (correct identification) necessary to positively predict the purity of the MDMA tablet. Further, since users regard MDMA as a benign drug, the temptation will be to assume the pill being evaluated is MDMA, even though the subjective test results may be questionable. Therefore, we sought to evaluate the DanceSafe field testing kit's accuracy in identifying MDMA and MDA derivatives and its ability to detect certain contaminants.
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