¿Nuevo verano del amor?

Oigo por la radio en las noticias de la BBC1: los últimos análisis indican que las pastillas de éxtasis han aumentado su pureza. Después de años en los que se han vendido pastillas compuestas principalmente por productos legalizados que se pueden adquirir en las farmacias como derivados anfetamínicos, los últimos análisis indican que se ha vuelto a los niveles de MDMA de hace 10 años. Se teme que las personas que no estén acostumbradas puedan sufrir algún tipo de daño si toman tantas pastillas como antes.



Aquí copio la noticia completa

Ecstasy users are being warned about a rise in the number of higher strength pills available at clubs and festivals.

In recent years almost all of the pills sold by dealers as ecstasy have really been made from amphetamines, caffeine and other stimulants.

But most of the tablets seized at festivals this year contained MDMA, the stronger chemical first used to make the drug in the late 1980s.

Drug charities say they are seeing a similar trend in other parts of the UK.

"This can cause real problems for people who are used to taking half a dozen tablets on a night out," said Harry Shapiro at DrugScope.

"The main danger when you take ecstasy is ending up in A&E with heatstroke and that danger increases with the amount of MDMA in the pill."

Ecstasy users who drink too much water on a night out are also vulnerable to a condition called hyponatremia or water intoxication.

As a result, the level of salt in the body is diluted to a dangerous level which can, in rare cases, prove fatal.

'Noticeably stronger'

Continue reading the main story Historically, the active ingredient in ecstasy pills is the chemical MDMA

To make it, illegal drug laboratories need safrole oil or another chemical called PMK

Both of those substances are now tightly controlled in Europe

Over the last decade drug manufacturers have switched to weaker alternatives from caffeine to amphetamines and BZP, until very recently classed as a legal high

But recent evidence suggests pills on the market today have started to contain MDMA once again

Multiplied across the population it suggests at least 540,000 people use the drug, making it the third most popular illegal substance after cannabis and cocaine.

One twenty-four-year old, who didn't want to be named, said he takes it once a month when he goes clubbing.

"About a year ago there was a change in the type of pills out there," he said.

"All of a sudden we started getting ones which I'm told are like the rave scene in the early 90s.