PMID- 27129144
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20170707
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 1872-6283 (Electronic)
IS  - 0379-0738 (Linking)
VI  - 263
DP  - 2016 Jun
TI  - Crystals and tablets in the Spanish ecstasy market 2000-2014: Are they the same 
      or different in terms of purity and adulteration?
PG  - 164-168
LID - S0379-0738(16)30168-2 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.04.016 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Although 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) has a long history 
      in recreational settings, research on its composition (purity and adulteration) 
      has focused only on tablets even though crystal format is readily available for 
      users. METHODS: Drug specimens collected between January 2000 and December 2014 
      were analyzed at Energy Control's facilities. All samples were voluntarily 
      provided by drug users. Sample identification was made with thin layer 
      chromatography and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and 
      quantification with ultraviolet spectrophotometry (only in unadulterated 
      samples). RESULTS: Between January 2000 and December 2014, 6200 samples purchased 
      as ecstasy by their users were analyzed. Crystals were the most frequent format 
      (60.6%) followed by tablets (38.8%). During the study period, the proportion of 
      samples containing only MDMA was higher in crystals than in tablets. Compared 
      with tablets, adulterated crystal samples contained the same number of 
      adulterants but more combinations of different substances. Although caffeine was 
      commonly detected as adulterant both in crystals and tablets, other substances 
      such as phenacetin, lidocaine, dextrometorphan or methamphetamine were detected 
      almost exclusively in crystal samples. The amount of MDMA in crystal samples 
      remained stable unlike tablets for which a huge increase in MDMA dose was 
      observed since 2010. CONCLUSION: Crystal samples of ecstasy showed clear 
      differences compared to ecstasy tablets and this must be taken into account both 
      in research and harm reduction.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
FAU - Vidal Gine, Claudio
AU  - Vidal Gine C
AD  - Energy Control - Asociacion Bienestar y Desarrollo, Spain. Electronic address: 
      claudiovidal@energycontrol.org.
FAU - Ventura Vilamala, Mireia
AU  - Ventura Vilamala M
AD  - Energy Control - Asociacion Bienestar y Desarrollo, Spain.
FAU - Fornis Espinosa, Ivan
AU  - Fornis Espinosa I
AD  - Energy Control - Asociacion Bienestar y Desarrollo, Spain.
FAU - Gil Lladanosa, Cristina
AU  - Gil Lladanosa C
AD  - Energy Control - Asociacion Bienestar y Desarrollo, Spain.
FAU - Calzada Alvarez, Nu
AU  - Calzada Alvarez N
AD  - Energy Control - Asociacion Bienestar y Desarrollo, Spain.
FAU - Fito Fruitos, Ariadna
AU  - Fito Fruitos A
AD  - Energy Control - Asociacion Bienestar y Desarrollo, Spain.
FAU - Rodriguez Rodriguez, Joan
AU  - Rodriguez Rodriguez J
AD  - Human Pharmacology and Clinical Neurosciences Research Group, Institut Hospital 
      del Mar de Investigacions Mediques - IMIM, Barcelona, Spain.
FAU - Domingo Salvany, Antonia
AU  - Domingo Salvany A
AD  - Epidemiology of Drugs of Abuse Research Group, Institut de Recerca Hospital del 
      Mar de Investigacions Mediques - IMIM, Barcelona, Spain.
FAU - de la Torre Fornell, Rafael
AU  - de la Torre Fornell R
AD  - Human Pharmacology and Clinical Neurosciences Research Group, Institut Hospital 
      del Mar de Investigacions Mediques - IMIM, Barcelona, Spain.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20160420
PL  - Ireland
TA  - Forensic Sci Int
JT  - Forensic science international
JID - 7902034
RN  - 0 (Hallucinogens)
RN  - 0 (Illicit Drugs)
RN  - 0 (Tablets)
RN  - KE1SEN21RM (N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine)
SB  - IM
MH  - *Crystallization
MH  - *Drug Contamination
MH  - Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
MH  - Hallucinogens/*chemical synthesis
MH  - Humans
MH  - Illicit Drugs/*chemical synthesis
MH  - N-Methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine/*chemical synthesis
MH  - Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
MH  - *Tablets
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Adulteration
OT  - Illegal markets
OT  - MDMA
OT  - Purity
EDAT- 2016/04/30 06:00
MHDA- 2017/07/08 06:00
CRDT- 2016/04/30 06:00
PHST- 2015/12/21 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2016/04/08 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2016/04/11 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2016/04/30 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2016/04/30 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2017/07/08 06:00 [medline]
AID - S0379-0738(16)30168-2 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.04.016 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Forensic Sci Int. 2016 Jun;263:164-168. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.04.016. 
      Epub 2016 Apr 20.