From Pleasure to Pain: Inside MDMA Drug Labs

Introduction

This 2019 investigation from The Feed traces the production and consumption of MDMA – from the cook to the consumer. Australians love party drugs, especially MDMA, and they are the biggest consumer of ecstasy in the world. Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about festival deaths, pill testing, and the government’s tough stance on drugs. But what doesn’t get mentioned as much is where all this MDMA is actually coming from – and who’s behind it. That’s what The Feed is setting out to discover as they travel from Australia to the Netherlands.

Quotes

“Even though they sold the pills as ecstasy, some didn’t have any MDMA in them at all. He was open to putting in rat poison, heroin, anything that was going to sell. He just didn’t seem to care about it. He was quite cold in that sense.”

“A little online research shows that Chinese chemical companies are more than willing to sell precursor ingredients to would-be drug cooks. We reached out to one of the sellers. We’ve decided to see just how easy it is to buy a chemical that basically underpins the entire global MDMA industry – PMK glycidate.”

“While police say local clandestine MDMA labs are on the increase, a lot of our party drugs still come from overseas, and if you go on the dark web looking to buy ecstasy or MDMA, one country’s product seems particularly popular: The Netherlands … Holland sells the cheapest MDMA in the world compared to other countries. Holland also produces the best quality MDMA in the world.”

“Things in the Netherlands are a little different. Unlike in Australia, drug use isn’t illegal and you’re allowed to possess small amounts of soft substances like weed. You can even buy it in coffee shops. The country’s approach to drugs has led to some things that really would never be seen back home.”

“This YouTube program, DrugsLab, is funded by the Dutch government and one of its national public broadcasters. In each episode, one of the hosts tries a popular drug or talks about drug related topics.”

“While Australians are the world’s biggest individual consumers of ecstasy, the Netherlands is the world’s biggest producer. They make around 80% of the world’s synthetic drugs and a lot of that comes from here in the country’s south. The Dutch synthetic drugs industry is worth an estimated 19 billion euros annually and crime gangs are taking advantage of some of the best things about the Netherlands.”