Ireland and the Netherlands the two largest ecstasy consumer markets in the EU

The HSE first piloted a drug checking service at a music festival in 2019 and, after the covid period, gradually expanded it to three festivals in recent years.

The ‘back of the house’ service allows for drugs to be put into “surrender bins” at health tents in festivals, where they can be rapidly tested and results, including alerts, provided through services, social media and festival warning systems.

Proposals to set up ‘front of house’ drug checking — involving legally permitted direct engagement between the service and users — have not developed in Ireland.

The HSE is hoping to expand checking beyond festivals to other social settings, such as pubs and late bars.

Barter deals

A new drug market report by the EU Drugs Agency (EUDA) and Europol, the EU’s police body, highlights early evidence to indicate that European ecstasy manufacturing gangs may be engaging in “barter deals” with South American cocaine cartels.

The drug cartels have established supply chains for supplying Europe with increasing amounts of cocaine. EU agencies are seeing incidents of European gangs supplying consignments of ecstasy to the cartels "in exchange" for cocaine.

The EU Drug Market — Ecstasy report estimates that the European retail MDMA market is worth at least €594m annually, corresponding to around 72 million tablets being consumed in the EU.

“According to survey data, the two largest MDMA consumer markets per capita in the European Union are the Netherlands and Ireland, with 6% or more people aged 15 to 34 reporting to have consumed MDMA in the last year,” it said.

The report added that of the 13 member states that have undertaken surveys since 2021, four reported higher estimates than their previous survey and nine reported stable estimates. Ireland’s last published survey was conducted in 2019-2020, with the survey taking place every four to five years.

Health risks

The report said that while harms associated with MDMA are “typically modest and transient in their impact” that serious adverse effects, including fatalities, can occur, especially when large quantities of ecstasy are consumed.

It said MDMA can lead to dangerous levels of hyperthermia and dehydration, which can be exacerbated by crowded nightclubs or music festivals.

In addition, drinking too much water can be dangerous and the drug can also be risky for people with pre-existing cardiac issues.

“MDMA remains a popular drug in nightlife and music festival settings, so ecstasy tablets that contain high amounts of MDMA, or unexpected ingredients, pose serious risks,” said EUDA executive director Alexis Goosdeel. 

“Harm reduction measures, like drug-checking services, are crucial to mitigate the dangers. Tailored prevention and treatment services are more critical than ever.”

Europol executive director Catherine De Bolle said: ‘Europe is a key player in the synthetic drugs market and a global supplier of MDMA, both producing and trafficking for domestic and international markets. A further spread of production facilities throughout the EU is also highly likely, posing an additional threat to our societies.” 

While web surveys of users indicates the bulk of people continue to get their drugs face-to-face from a dealer or someone they know, the report said social media is also used, including among younger people.

“Social media platforms and instant messaging apps have become particularly dynamic channels through which MDMA is sold to consumers," the report said. "Mixtures of MDMA, ketamine and additional substances, sold as 'tucibi' or 'pink cocaine' are also increasingly available.”

These latter substances typically contain MDMA and ketamine -  which is also a drug the HSE has detected being used among young people at music festivals.

For advice see drugs.ie