Drop In :: The XTC


	The XTC

About Drop In Our Sponsors Contacts Programs: The Streetwork The Mobil Street The Drop In Centre The Methadone Substitution Centre The Family Centre The Aftercare Centre The XTC :: search ::

Basic Idea and the Content of the Project

From our experience follows that people recreationally using „dancing drugs“ are group, which is beyond efficient reach of antidrug prevention, that is in the first aimed to abstinence. Therefore it is needed to answer to the situation in such a way that this group consisting mostly of young people has enough information about risks connected with using drugs. This information must be given in a credible form. It is mostly aimed at teenagers, who delimit themselves to the world of adults.

For these reasons our project covers social actions (parties, festivals), which are visited by young people potentially at risk. Except health and social counselling, informing about the services and the offer of our other Drop In programs, we provide testing of „Extasy“ pills for presence of psychoactive substances.

These reasons led us to testing of „Extasy“ pills (E, pilule, koule):

The quality of Extasy distributed in streets is bad and sometimes it is not Extasy at all and testing can lower the risk connected with using it.

The persons who are providing the testing itself get to contact with social groups, to which they cannot normally reach and they can give them information in acceptable form.

Informative talks with potential consumers can be aimed not only at the problem of drugs, but also at topics connected with it (legislation, sexual behaviour, social aspects).

The place of field testing cannot be substituted in gaining the information of new substances and new trends, it is lowing the risk of losing the credibility of well informed drug users.

During testing we can well map the situation in the given locality (who, where, which substances and which way they are used and distributed).

All gained information are very important source for deciding of national institutions and bodies working in the department of the prevention of abusing drugs.

The principle of the test with Marquis reagent

Providing the test is easy: to the part of the pill crushed on the glass plate is added one drop of the reagent and during 10-15 sec colour changes appear in the dependance of the pill ingredients. After finishing of the test the plate is thoroughly washed in a stream of water and it is dried before the next use.

The Marquis test is not selective, it means that the positive reaction is given by whole group of substances and it is not possible on the base of it to determine which substance is the tested one. Furthermore it is not quantitative, it means that it cannot be said what is the concentration of the active substances in the sample. The test is usually used to prove the presence of opiates and heroin.

Basic colour changes can be described in the following way:

No colour change: the sample does not contain observable amount of MDMA (Extasy), MDE, MDA, 2C-B, DOM, DOB, DXM, methamphetamine or amphetamine.

Very dark red or black colour: The sample contains either substances type of Extasy (MDMA, MDEA or MDA), DXM or opiates. By length of time needed to change of colour to black, it can be differed DXM and substances type of Extasy.

Dark grey: DXM emits first small amount of smoke and tested sample turns black in 5-10 sec. Substances type of Extasy emit less smoke than DXM and the change of colour to black is practically immediate.

Yellow of green colour: Indicates presence of 2C-B, DOM or DOB.

Bright orange: Indicates presence of methamphetamine or amphetamine.

Other colour: The pill does not contain any of above given compounds, but for sure it contains some other still unknown but probably dangerous substances.

There are many substances that do not react to Marquis reagent, i.e. there is no change of colour. Such a substance is for example PMA, which has been detected in Austria, Australia, the USA, Norway, the Netherlands, England and in other countries and which caused several deaths yet. After the consumption of bigger dose there appears high fever, dramatically rise blood pressure and frequence of the pulse, appears fits. The person can lapse into a coma and die. PMMA is similarly non-active in this test. But in the case when these substances are mixed with other that are in the test positive their presence can be masked.

The composition of the Marquis reagent and the safety of work with it

Testing reagent is a simple and cheap dilution that enables testing of unknown substances in solid state, its aim is detecting of their probable composition. It is mainly used to test pills of Extasy, it has been sold freely in the world since 1998 and any negative experience with its use have not been published yet; the reagent does not contain any illegal substance. Testing of pills is widely considered as very important tool in the prevention of drug using. The reagent is liquid and contains water dilution of formaldehyde and concentrated sulphuric acid. Some producers add to it methanol to slow the chemical reaction and to make watching changes of colours easier. It is kept in dark glass bottles and it can be used from several months (cca 6) till one year withou any signs of decay or loss of effectiveness.

When the handling is cautious and responsible and the informed user keeps safety precautions the risk of health harm is not probable. This preparation is sold freely.

Used abbreviations:

2C-B	4-brom-2,5-dimethoxyamfetamin
DOM	4-methylamfetamin
DXM	dextromethomorfan
MDA	3,4-methylendioxyamfetamin
MDEA	3,4-methylendioxyethylamfetamin (MDE, Eve)
MDMA	3,4-methylendioxymethylamfetamin (extáze, Adam, XTC)
PMA	p-methoxyamfetamin
PMMA	p-methoxymethylamfetamin

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