March 11 VOLUME GLOBAL SMART UPDATE GLOBAL SMART UPDATE Special Segment The changing nature of “ecstasy”20132014 About the SMART Update The threat of synthetic drugs is one of the most sig- The Update reports various synthetic drug informa- nificant drug problems worldwide. After cannabis, tion, such as significant or unusual drug or precursor amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are the second seizures, new locations, methods and chemicals used most widely used drugs across the globe, outstrip- for clandestine manufacture, new trafficking groups ping the use of cocaine and heroin. Since 1990 the or routes, changes in legislation to address the illicit manufacture of ATS has been reported problem of synthetic drugs, emerging drugs or from more than 70 countries and the figure user groups, and health implications related keeps rising. Along with ATS, the continued to their use.* growth of the new psychoactive substances (NPS) market over previous years has be- come a policy challenge and a major interna- tional concern. A growing interplay between In this issue the new drugs and illicit drug markets is being observed. By October 2013, the emergence of NPS Each issue of the Update contains a special coverage had been reported in more than 85 countries and ter- and thematic segments. Previous issues highlighted ritories. Trends on the synthetic drug market evolve the increasing dimension of ATS trafficking from -Af quickly each year. rica to East and South-East Asia; the ATS situation in South Asia; the changing faces of illicit ATS manu- The UNODC Global Synthetics Monitoring: Analyses, facture; the spread of new psychoactive substances Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme enhances across the globe and, the legal situation and respons- the capacity of Member States in priority regions to es to the challenge of new psychoactive substances generate, manage, analyse, report and use synthetic and the road ahead. drug information to design effective policy and pro- gramme interventions. Launched in Septem- The special segment of the current issue ad- ber 2008, Global SMART provides capacity dresses the changing nature of the content building in East and South-East Asia, the Pa- of drugs and substances sold as “ecstasy”. cific, Latin America and Africa and regularly For this purpose, the historical background reviews the global ATS situation. Features of of MDMA and the original active compo- UNODC Global SMART are online data col- nent of ecstasy is outlined; a description of lection, situation reports and regional assess- MDMA, its legal status and its mechanism of ments. The first global situation assessment on action is presented and reported adverse effects NPS “The challenge of new psychoactive substances” associated with its use are briefly summarized. Final- was published in March 2013, pursuant to Commis- ly, the composition of pills currently sold as “ecstasy” sion on Narcotic Drugs resolution 55/1 (2012). The is discussed. SMART Early Warning Advisory web-portal offers reg- ularly updated information on NPS and related legis- While data on ATS seizures is often easy to obtain, in- lation (https://www.unodc.org/NPS). formation on the demand for ATS and NPS remains scarce and anecdotal in nature. Nevertheless, the Up- The Global SMART Update is designed to provide regu- date continues to make a determined effort to high- lar brief reporting on emerging patterns and trends of light information on ATS and NPS use. Various drug the global synthetic drug situation. Given the speed at demand-related subjects are covered in this issue, which changes in the ATS and NPS markets occur, including facts that have come to light on the it is especially important to have a simple sus- combined use of MDMA and new psychoac- tainable mechanism for frequent information tive substances and their impact in selected sharing from different parts of the world. countries. The Update also covers the latest The Global SMART Update is published twice developments in the illicit manufacture of a year and is available in English and Spanish. ecstasy in Europe and the increasing use of Electronic copies of the SMART Updates and ecstasy in a powdered form, which is report- other publications are available at http://www. ed to be rapidly gaining prominence in some unodc.org/unodc/en/scientists/smart.html. regions of the world. *The information and data contained within this report are from official Government reports, press releases, scientific journals or incidents confirmed by UNODC Field Offices. Additional or updated information from previously reported incidents may also be included where appropriate. Information denoted with an asterisk (*) are from ‘open sources’ where UNODC is waiting for official confirmation and therefore should be considered only preliminary. This report has not been formally edited. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNODC or contributory organizations and neither do they imply any endorsement. Suggested citation: Global SMART Update Volume 11, March 2014. Cover picture © U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 2 The changing nature of “ecstasy”1 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was For instance, of the two million past-year users of “ec- the original chemical found in pills sold as ecstasy and stasy” in Europe, 1.5 million were between 15 and 34 the two names have been used interchangeably.2 How- years of age.4 Oceania (2.9 per cent), North America ever, in the last few decades several substances under (0.9 per cent) and Europe (0.7 per cent) are the three international control and new psychoactive substances regions with the highest prevalence of ‘ecstasy’ use, ac- (NPS) that mimic or produce effects similar to MDMA, cording to the latest estimates.5 have been identified as components of pills sold as “ec- stasy”. Chemical analyses of “ecstasy” pills around the What is MDMA? world have revealed that their composition is rather MDMA is a derivative of amphetamine and a member diverse, varying from products with MDMA as the sole of the phenethylamine family. MDMA and its chemical psychoactive substance, through mixtures of MDMA analogues such as 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine with other psychoactive substances, to pills which (MDA)6 and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine do not contain MDMA but rather other psychoactive (MDEA)7 belong to the more general category com- substances which mimic its effects. Thus, users can no monly referred to as ecstasy-group substances. longer be certain of the content of pills sold as “ecsta- sy” and are thereby exposed to increased health risks MDMA hydrochloride, a white or off-white powder or and potentially dangerous effects. In addition, data on crystals, is the most common salt form and is soluble in prevalence of MDMA use may be inaccurate due to the water. MDMA is usually made into brightly coloured varying composition of “ecstasy”. pills or capsules and sold as ecstasy for oral use. It is also available in a powder form for nasal insufflation MDMA, a failed medicine (snorting). Ecstasy can also be prepared for injection, The German pharmaceutical company, Merck, first filed although this mode of administration is uncommon. a patent for MDMA in 1912. Although the patent was Recent reports from Australia and the United States issued in 1914, it was not immediately investigated for have pointed to an increased presence of MDMA in use as a pharmaceutical product. In 1960, the synthesis powder as well as crystalline forms on the market. The of MDMA was reported for the first time followed by powder form of MDMA is associated with the street reports of its use in humans during the latter part of name “Molly”. Pills sold as “ecstasy” in the market are that decade. During the 1970s, MDMA was introduced known by names such as “E”; “X”; “XTC”; “Rolls”; in clinical psychotherapy in the United States, although “Beans”; “Adam”; “Molly” (powdered ecstasy), in addi- the drug had never undergone formal clinical trials and tion to other names that often reflect the imprinted was therefore not approved for use in humans. By the logo in the pills, e.g. “Mitsubishi”, “Playboy”, “Rolex”, late 1970s and early 1980s, MDMA gained popularity in and many others. psychiatric practice. In 1970, MDMA was detected for the first time in pills seized in the United States, but it was only during the late 1970s and early 1980s that MDMA became popu- Source: Ecstasydata.org lar among urban communities in the United States. By How is MDMA obtained? the mid-1980s, the use of ecstasy (the street name for MDMA coined in California partly due to feelings of The primary precursors of MDMA are safrole (includ- euphoria and emotional warmth caused by the drug) ing in the form of safrole rich oils (SRO)), isosafrole, pi- became popular in the nightclub and electronic music peronal and 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone scenes, and spread to the European continent and Oce- (3,4-MDP-2-P, also known as PMK). SRO occurs natu- ania. In 1985, the United States placed MDMA under rally in over 360 tree species in South-East Asia. The temporary control and was brought under permanent oil is obtained from tree trunks, roots, bark, branches control under the Controlled Substances Act (Sched- and leaves, and is used legitimately in the fragrance ule I) in 1988, after being deemed to have no medical and insecticide industries. In Cambodia, SRO is extract- use, and a high potential for abuse. MDMA became an ed from the tree locally known as Mreas Prov Phnom, internationally controlled substance in 1986, and it is but the production, import, or export of SRO is prohib- currently listed in Schedule I of the 1971 Convention ited in the country, to prevent its use as a precursor on Psychotropic Substances3 together with its chemical for MDMA.