When I visited there were three people having samples tested. An ordinary
white plate on the table had particles of various pills placed around the
edge, and a drop of a clear liquid was placed on each from an eye dropper.
The particles changed colour within a few seconds, but it was not obvious
to me how to describe the colour except to say it was dark, some bluish and
some brownish. de Loor would not reveal what the test was because, he said,
a previous test for cocaine became useless when dealers added an ingredient
to make it show positive without cocaine.
He showed me an American report called An evaluation of the potential for
clandestine manufacture of MDA analogs and homologs - of which MDMA is one
- that explains how MDMA is made and what equipment is required. August
knew of one factory producing 250,000 Es a day. He also said that recently
there was a party in Rotterdam attended by 22,000 people and there were
only 3 casualties, all due to people falling over. Although presumably many
people were on Amphetamine (because so much is sold as Ecstasy) these must
have been affected by the 'contact high' and there was no violence. Pills
made for export look different to those sold in Holland, so as to be less
easy to trace back. Mistakes in manufacture could lead to overdoses - at
the time there is some double strength MDA on the market.
