UK: New study warns of real flood of counterfeit drugs

Nearly half of the tablets sold as MDMA at festivals in the UK do not contain MDMA 👀 according to a study by Cardiff University, the University of Liverpool and the drug testing organization The Loop.

The reasons care Brexit, the Covida 19 pandemic and the fight against drugs. Both of the first reasons would disrupt drug distribution channels. The study shows that 45 percent of substances sold as MDMA did not even contain any part of the drug, but contained cathinones, a new psychoactive substance NPS, and caffeine.

Some patients have reported panic attacks and psychosis as side effects. The report adds that

 "counterfeiting poses additional unknown risks to consumer health." 

In 2019, when a similar study was conducted, only seven percent of tablets tested did not contain MDMA.

“This is the first peer-reviewed study to confirm that there has been an unprecedented deterioration in the quality of the drug market since Brexit and the Covid-19 measures. The study finds this effect not only at festivals but across the UK. The same effect can be seen everywhere, ”says Michael Pascoe, a research associate at Cardiff University and co-author of the study.

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