MDMA evaluation 2023

In 2023, 309 pills declared as MDMA were handed in for analysis at the Zurich Drug Information Center (DIZ). 238 of these were tested as part of outpatient drug checking at the DIZ, 71 as part of the twelve mobile drug checks carried out in the city of Zurich in 2023. In addition, 260 crystalline MDMA samples were handed in for analysis at the DIZ last year. 210 of these were tested as part of outpatient drug checking at the DIZ, 50 as part of the twelve mobile drug checking missions.

The detailed MDMA evaluation 2023 can be found in the attached report. These are the most important findings from 2023:

General

- The 2023 samples analyzed contained fewer impurities compared to the previous year. For both pills and powders, the proportion of samples with unexpected pharmacologically active substances has decreased and is at a low level compared to recent years. The decrease in detected synthetic impurities in both pills and crystalline samples is striking.

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‍MDMA pills

- The MDMA content in pills has risen again slightly after last year's decline and is in line with the average of the last five years.

- The majority of the pills are high to very high doses. 89.3 % of the pills tested contain over 120mg MDMA, which would already correspond to a high dose. Furthermore, the MDMA content varies greatly even in pills with over 120mg.

- On average, the actual MDMA content differed from the declared MDMA content by 67.8 mg.

- Compared to 2022, the number of pills with synthetic impurities and pills with caffeine fell significantly. The number of pills with synthetic impurities fell from 14 to 5, the number of pills with caffeine from 11 to 4.

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‍MDMA crystals

- The MDMA content of crystals was also high as usual in 2023.

- Compared to previous years, the number of samples with unexpected pharmacologically active substances decreased. The proportion of samples with unexpected pharmacologically active substances fell from 13.6 % to 4.0 %.

- Compared to 2022, the number of samples with synthetic impurities decreased significantly, falling from 19 to 3.

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You can find more information about MDMA on our website here.

The results published here are not representative of the substance market in the city of Zurich.