The Bestival music event finished this last weekend in Dorset, England and while most festivalgoers enjoyed the music, some were exposed to dangerous MDMA pills that left many awake for over 96 hours. The Loop, a drug safety organization, did some digging to explore what was in these drugs and why they are so dangerous. As a reminder, it was just this past July when we learned that the UK’s drug use has reached record-high levels among youth.
After testing around 450 MDMA samples, ‘pentylone’ and ‘N-ethyl’ both showed up positive. While normal MDMA shouldn’t leave you awake for 4 days and/or with temporary psychosis, these pills were no different in smell or appearance. According to The Loop’s director Fiona Measham, the drugs they found were around three times stronger than normal MDMA, resulting in the abnormal side effects.
Fiona explained more about the process to Metro.co.uk:
Additionally at Bestival, The Loop founds several pills shaped like Donald Trump that contained 250mg MDMA, twice the normal amount! Cocaine tested at the event turned out to be chloroquine.
Let this be a warning the danger drugs at festivals. You never really know what’s inside the pills you find. It’s not worth your life, so stay safe this summer and check out The Loop’s website here for tips on staying safe with drugs.