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US test results

Here are the results of tests done on 14 pills sold as Ecstasy for the US edition of my book. These were tested about March 1996. Sorry about the photos and lack of information, we used a different lab.

Plain white domed tablet scored on reverse, 7mm diameter.
67mg MDMA plus unidentified substance.

Plain blue domed blue tablet, 10mm diameter.
73mg MDMA plus unidentified substance.

'Briarcliffe'. Plain yellow domed tablet, 8mm diameter.
46mg MDMA plus caffeine and unidentified substance

'Bo'. Octagonal white tablet scored on reverse, 8mm across.
MDE.

'Rolex'. (you would never know from the pic, but this had a clear impression of the crown Rolex logo on it). Cream tablet, 6mm diameter.
65mg MDMA.

White tablet, scored on reverse, 10mm diameter.
Dextromethorphan plus phenylpropanolamine.

White tablet, scored on reverse, 9mm diameter.
Phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, glyceryl guaiacolate.

White tablet, 10mm diam.
Unidentified substance

Green tablet, speckle, 10mm diam.
102mg MDMA

White tablet, scored on reverse, 10mm diameter.
Phenylpropanolamine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, glyceryl guaiacolate, dextromethorphan.

Yellow tablet, speckled, scored on reverse, 13mm diameter.
Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, dextromethorphan.

Yellow tablet (not speckled, not scored), 13mm diameter.
Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, dextromethorphan.

White tablet, scored on reverse, 7mm diameter.
92mg MDMA plus unidentified substance.

Yellow tablet, speckled, 10mm diameter.
72mg MDMA plus unidentified substance.

Comment

The large number of unidentified substances was due to the lab facilities and does not necessarily imply that this batch contained more strange chemicals than others. The lab was also unable to give quantities of any substance other than MDMA.
However, in comparison to the pills I have tested in Britian and those tested in Holland, the quality of US pills tested is much lower. Far more contain other ingredients and the quantity of MDMA is very low.

Only half the pills tested contained MDMA as opposed to about 70% in Britain, and the average does was 73mg instead of about 105mg. And, compared to British samples, this batch contained far more 'undesirable' active drugs like ephedrine.

©Nicholas Saunders 1996