MDMA/ecstasy and amphetamines - Overview

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methamphetamine), amphetamine, and cathinones are synthetic stimulants from the phenethylamine family, known for dispelling fatigue and hunger and inducing euphoria, extreme concentration and self-confidence, and facilitating communication.

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Comprimés d'ecstasy

Introduction/Background

MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, an amphetamine derivative) and amphetamine are synthetic drugs.

MDMA exists in different forms: tablets (ecstasy), crystals, and powder. The use of MDMA, mainly in the form of “ecstasy”, arose in France in the mid-1980s, and underwent a phase of significant progression until the early 2000s. This substance is historically associated with the techno scene: its distribution in France kept pace with the rise of this party movement. MDMA is used to feel a sense of euphoria and feel-good factor, empathogenic and entactogenic effects, and resist fatigue. In large doses, it is a hallucinogenic substance which can cause changes in sensory perceptions. MDMA in crystal or powder form is swallowed, often diluted in a drink, or “parachuted” (the substance is wrapped in a cigarette paper), but also snorted, and less frequently smoked or injected.

Amphetamine (N,α-methylphenethylamine) is classified in the family of phenethylamines, which includes different substances: stimulants, entactogens, and hallucinogens. Amphetamine mainly has stimulating and anorexigenic properties. It most often exists in powder form, intended to be snorted, or less commonly, injected. It has a strong presence in the alternative party scene where its price is lower than that of cocaine, for relatively similar effects, ensuring its popularity.

Production/Supply

Synthetic drugs (MDMA, amphetamines) used in France hail predominately from the Netherlands, the main production zone in Western Europe. France is also a transit country for traffickers who target the United Kingdom and Spain in particular.

Seizures

In 2022, 15 543 421 ecstasy tablets were seized in France, which is a 6% increase in comparison with the year 2021. The quantities can also vary greatly from one year to the next due to the random nature of seizures and arrests since part of the traffic only traverses French territory. However, the quantities seized have increased tenfold in comparison with 2012 (156 337 tablets). The seizures of amphetamine and methamphetamine stand at 273 kg, a 21% increase in comparison with 2021.

Price and potency

MDMA

Whether in crystal, powder, or tablet (ecstasy) form, the average potencies of MDMA have seen often considerable fluctuations in recent years. Between 2011 and 2017, they rose from 57.8% to 73%, then returned in 2020 to a level close to that of the year 2011, namely 59.2% (SNPS 2021 data). Ecstasy tablets have also seen potencies regularly increase, going from 44 mg of MDMA on average per tablet in 2009, to 141 mg in 2021, according to data from the National Forensic Science Institute (SNPS), which is above the toxicity threshold fixed at 120 mg. This increase in potencies is in line with the appearance of larger tablets, in more vivid colours and with 3D shapes, over the last 10 years.

In 2022, according to the Home Affairs Department’s Anti-Narcotics Office (OFAST), the current price of an ecstasy tablet stands at €10, a price which has been stable since 2015. According to observations from the OFDT’s monitoring scheme for Emerging Trends and New Drugs (TREND) the current price of MDMA in powder or crystal form was recorded to range from €40 to €50 in 2022, while “parachutes” (which contain a small quantity wrapped in a cigarette paper, ready to be ingested) were sold for €10.

Amphetamine

Amphetamine is available in various forms: powder (most widely used form), paste, and tablet. It also exists in liquid form, but this is very rarely seen in France. According to OFAST, in 2022, the current price of one gram of powder was €10 (on the decline in comparison with 2020, when it stood at €15). The observations of the TREND scheme revealed that, in 2022, the price of one gram of “speed” could be up to €40.

According to OFAST, in 2022, the average potency in the active principle of amphetamine was 27%, the cutting agent most often detected by the OFDT’s identification system (SINTES) was caffeine, the potency of which ranged from 14% to 76%.

Use in the adolescent population

Among 17-year-olds, in 2022, lifetime use of MDMA/ecstasy stood at 2.0%, decreasing in comparison with 2017, where it affected 3.4% of these adolescents. At regional level, the lifetime use levels of MDMA at 17 years old varied between regions: young people in the regions of Brittany and Nouvelle-Aquitaine had tried MDMA more (3.2% and 2.7% respectively) than the national average (2.0%), and those in Île-de-France (1.6%) less than the national average.

Among high school students, in 2022, the lifetime use of MDMA/ecstasy stood at 1.9%, a proportion which is also down from 2018 (where it stood at 2.7%).

In comparison with other European countries

The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) international survey allows to compare with the majority of other European countries regarding young people aged 15-16. In 2019, among 15-16 year-olds in Europe, lifetime use of MDMA stood at 2.3%, with France finding itself slightly below the European average (1.7%).

  • ESPAD report 2019. Results from the European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs

Use in the adult population

In 2017, in France, 5.0% of 18–64-year-olds had tried MDMA, or rather around 1.9 million people, while use within the year affected 1.0% of this population (or rather 400 000 users). The age ranges which were most affected by lifetime use were 26-34 year-olds (9.5% of lifetime users) and 18-25 year-olds (6.9%). For amphetamines, the lifetime use level was 2.2% among 18-64 year-olds. This lifetime use reached its highest levels among 26-34 year-olds, and 35-44 year-olds, with 4.0% and 2.4% respectively, against 1.9% among 18-24 year-olds. The use of amphetamines remained rare: 0.3% of the French population aged 18-64 had used them within the year.

In comparison with other European countries

According to the European Drug Report 2023, the use of MDMA within the year, among inhabitants of the European Union aged 15-34, is estimated to be 1.8%, spanning from 0.2% in Portugal and Turkey, to 7.8% in the Netherlands. This prevalence stands at 1.3% for France, slightly below the European average. Among the youngest people (individuals aged 15-24), this prevalence is higher, estimated at 2.0% for uses in the last year. The use of amphetamines within the year, among inhabitants of the European Union aged 15-34, is estimated to be 1.3%, ranging from 0% in Portugal to 3.5% in Croatia. This prevalence stands at 0.6% for France, which is slightly below the European average.

Impacts

Psychostimulants and amphetamine derivatives dispel fatigue and hunger, induce euphoria, extreme concentration and self-confidence, and facilitate contact and communication. Some of them are present in several medicines which fall under the term amphetamine, and the indications of which are very restricted in France. These are often diverted and used as performance and image enhancement drugs, or appetite suppressants. Although not deemed to be highly addictive, amphetamine derivatives can be the source of addictions.

The acute use of amphetamines can be a source of neuropsychiatric conditions (anxiety attacks, confusion, spatio-temporal disorientation, hallucinations). The “come-down” phase, characterised by a sense of exhaustion and feeling of depression can often be extended for several weeks by symptoms of depression, anxiety, confusion, or sleeping problems. Amphetamines can also cause digestive, neurological, and cardiovascular conditions.

Somatically, taking them is associated with hypertonia (muscle contractions). Hypothermia and life-threatening cardiovascular conditions may occur, or serious pathological consequences (muscles, liver, kidneys, heart, brain...).

In 2021, according to the 2021 Drug and substance abuse-related deaths (DRAMES) survey, the percentage of deaths related to drug and substance abuse, involving amphetamine or MDMA was 6% (which is 29 deaths), a proportion which has been relatively stable over the last 10 years.

Perceptions/Opinions

Despite the extremely high average doses, the tablet has manageable dimensions in the eyes of users, due to its score-line, which allows doses to be split, unlike “parachutes” of MDMA.

Amphetamine also boasts a good reputation among its users. It also rivals cocaine, in its powder form, due to its much lower price per gram.

Legal framework and recent public guidelines

MDMA (including in the form of ecstasy tablets), amphetamine (or “speed”), and methamphetamine are substances classified as narcotics. Purchasing, using, possessing, offering, reselling, producing, carrying, or driving after having used them, are all law offences, subject to penalties, regardless of the quantity of substance in question (law of 31 December 1970).