A Debate I seem to always be in

So whenever my friends and I get together and start talking about different sorts of pills, the same question always comes up:
What percentage of MDMA pills are produced in Australia?
I always thought that MDMA pills were imported from overseas as chemists did not have the capibilities to make MDMA in Australia.
If anyone could shed some light on this subject that would be great and it might ease the tension thats always in the air when we are having this debate!

I hate to tell you but you and your friend will have to agree to disagree. Your never going to find out here thats for sure. People who say they know most likely don't or if they do they certainly won't be posting on a public board as it will most likely attract them some unwanted police attention.
Pills are made here, pills are made overseas. Its been shown through recent drug busts even MDMA powder is made in Australia. The exact ratios of whats an import whats a localy pressed pill from imported powder or whats a complete home bake will more than likely never be known.
I doubt even the drug squad could answer that question with any degree of accuracy but I bet they'd like to think they know. Come on fella's I know your reading whats the answer?

I've always agreed with the idea of importation rather than local production as the chemicals required to produce MDMA are hard, to say the least, to purchase. Then theres the whole skilled chemist required or you end up with crap obstacle as well.
My guess is that any locally produced pills were re-pressed powder which would, to some degree, explain the crappy nature of some pills seen in Australia.
Police and other authorities in australia (as inaccurate as some of their information seems to be) are totally adamant that no MDMA is locally produced and I've heard this from quite a vary of sources a number of times, and I'm inclined to agree with them.
It's very hard to debate this I find, mainly because a lot of people are pretty concrete in their beleifs about MDMA manufacture.
The true hard facts are anybody guess tho, however I'm lead to think the higher quality pills we see in Australia are imported rather than produced or remanufactured from powder locally.

russ: not a flame against you, i just have a different opinion on it.
although mass manufactured pills are most likely being imported its a misnomer to think mdma is not made here. pure safrass my be difficult to obtain but its a another myth to think it can not be refined from other sources. many people propagate the notion that mdma is only imported and people crap on saying there is no mdma made here with no real insight themselves, only regurgitating what they have read from others. at the end of the day there will be arguments from both sides of the fence, and its who you want to believe.
[ 12 September 2002: Message edited by: Cowboy Mac ]

While i have no idea how much MDMA is made here i would suggest that it would be alot more than you think. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly everyone is right by saying that many of the chems needed to perform the organic chemestry to make the stuff are restricted and heavily monitored. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes, and many clandestine chemists have devoted alot of time to working out ways to get around the use of the many listed chemicals. I'm no chemist but i'm sure that you dont need to pure safrole to make MDMA. Thats only used to make the phenylactone which is the key ingredient for making meth and MDMA. Phenylactone can be also be made in a number of different ways without the need for something like pure safrole. Some of these methods require the use of less monitored substances.
Unfortunatly here in Oz even ordering solvents like ether starts mega alarm bells ringing if you dont have a legit purpose for it. So if someone has the ability to get hold of chems like that without to much trouble, chances are the rest should not pose to much of a problem.

Alexkidd: phenylacetone or P2P(phenyl-2-propanone) is only used for amphetamine or methylamphetamine.
For MDMA you require a similar chemical to P2P but with the METHYLENEDIOXY bit attached. This is called MD-P2P(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone) or piperonylacetone.
It is my opinion that the mega international producers in Holland and Eastern Europe are often getting straight MD-P2P from places like China. MD-P2P is meant to be used in perfumeryThis side-steps any requirements for safrole as the initial precursor as u have MDMA's IMMEDIATE precurosor already.
But for others safrole or isosafrole must be obtained to synthesise the Md-P2P yourself. (other routes have been suggested that do not go through MD-P2P but these still require safrole)
Another precursor exists in piperonal, but that generally is for MDA only; although it too can be used to make MD-P2P.
Obviously safrole could be made from other chemicals but once u start doing this then we are talking about many-step syntheses which in a commercial sense is not attractive.
I have no doubt a significant proportion of MDMA is made here; but exactly how much of it is seen in the commercial market is another question.
People with contacts could obtain the chemicals easily enough.
And yes other essential oils do contain large amount of safrole, so MDMA could be made without ever asking for pure safrole, isosafrole or sassafras oil.
Another important point is NO chemistry exists to turn methamphetamine to MDMA or P2P to MD-P2P.
So unless u are getting pure MD-P2P (like the mega manufacturers overseas) using piperonal or safrole (whether obtained pure or through oils) is almost essential for MDXX manufacture.

Perhaps I'm doubting the capacity of organised crime, probably a narrow minded oversight on my behalf.
After having a bit more of a think, local production does sound likley if we are giving manufacturing syndicates the benefit of the doubt in that they are able to obtain the chemicals Biscuit mentions.
My understanding was that you needed pure safrass oil or safrole but with the wider range of precursors available the likleyhood does seem much higher indeed.

dim_mak: *smile*

Hmm if the chemicals are so hard to get then I would of assumed bringing the pills in would be harder still and therefore we do have aussie made mdma????
Or if bringing the pills in was too hard why not import the chemicals to make them?
Obvioulsy someone has got a way to do it that the cops dont know. Someone smarter than you and I.