Brexit and Covid lockdowns blamed for bad MDMA in the UK

euronews.com:

It’s not just longer passport queues being blamed on Brexit, as researchers say the UK’s EU exit, as well as Covid-19 lockdowns, has caused a dramatic drop in drug quality.

A new study has found that the quality of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy when in pill form, has severely dropped in quality in the UK since 2021.

Researchers from The Loop, a UK drug-checking charity found that almost half (45%) of substances sold as MDMA at English festivals last year didn’t contain any MDMA at all.

To compare, in 2019, just 7% of substances sold as MDMA didn't contain the drug.

Instead, much of the 'MDMA' sold in UK festivals seems to contain either cathinones, a chemical similar to other amphetamines, or just plain caffeine. 

"The drug market was turned upside down by Covid, lockdowns and Brexit combined," Professor Fiona Measham, a co-author of the paper, chair of criminology at the University of Liverpool and director for The Loop told Euronews.

In 2021, the UK was one of the first European countries to reopen its nightlife after Covid-19 lockdowns. This was also seen as a likely cause of the change in quality of MDMA in the UK.

“COVID-19 lockdowns and the shutdown of UK nightlife led to a slump in demand for ‘party drugs’ and suppliers scaled back production. Then, as UK nightlife reopened ahead of other European countries, demand outpaced supply,” said Dr Michael Pasco, a Cardiff University research associate and co-lead author of the study.

Another interesting study tested the water supply of seven European cities across the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy during lockdowns and showed there wasn’t a decrease in use of some drugs like cannabis.

But there was a 50% drop in the use of MDMA. This is likely because it’s used as a party drug and