F.U.B.A.R.
Bluelight Crew
Quite possibly. In fact, I've questioned the authenticity of all the pills and crystal I've had since 2014 - except for one batch a few months ago which was just like the old days.
Over in the MDMA and empathogenic drugs subforum, there's a thread called 'what is wrong with the MDMA available today?' where this issue has been discussed at great length (well worth a read). It's recently been suggested on there that an analogue called MDPH could be responsible, which tests positive as MDMA with all the reagent tests and a lot of lab tests, unless very specific tests are conducted. This could explain why most of the modern rubbish comes back as 'pure MDMA' from the likes of Wedinos, for example. Apparently this stuff is easy to accidentally synthesise by mistake during MDMA manufacture.
Here's an extract from the PIHKAL entry for MDPH:
DOSAGE: 160 - 240 mg.
DURATION: 3 - 5 h.
QUALITATIVE COMMENTS: (with 120 mg) The alert was felt in forty minutes and I was pretty much there at an hour and twenty. Quite like MDA, simple, with no lines, no colors, no motion, no fantasy. I am pleasantly stoned. The anorexia is real, as is the impotency. The drop from the 4th to the 6th hour was softened by a modest amount of wine, and this proved to be extremely intoxicating. My speech was slurred, and there was later amnesia for the rather aggressive and uninhibited behavior that occurred. I felt that there was more drug than alcohol contributing to this episode. My dream patterns were disturbingly unreal.
(with 160 mg) A very quiet development. There was no body load whatsoever. And no visual, and I saw it fading away all too soon. This might be a good promoter, like MDPR. I felt refreshed and relaxed on the following morning.
(with 200 mg) This has an inordinately foul taste. I felt slightly queasy. There were short daydreams which were quickly forgotten. I see no values that are worth the hints of physical problems, a little eye mismanagement and some clenching of teeth, and a tendency to sweat. I was able to sleep at only five hours into it, but there were a couple of darts. This is not as rewarding (stoning) as MDA, and has none of the magic of MDMA. It was a short-lived plus two.
This exactly describes the effects I usually experience from the modern stuff - the higher dosage, shorter duration and lack of magic.
BTW, I remember the snowballs being around, but unfortunately never had one...
Yes, I had been drinking - I'm always half pissed when I drop. I don't think I've ever had a straight head when I've taken 'MDMA' ( or whatever the fuck passes for it these days) except for the first few times in the early 90s. From 1995 to around 2004, I was always on smack or methadone and still got the full effects from pills. Then I had a break from pills to concentrate on being a junkie until I got reacquainted with them again in 2014 and everytime I've had pills/crystal since then I've been on booze. So I was wondering myself if it was the booze that was affecting the experience - until I got hold of the good stuff mentioned above which was fuckin bangin! And I was pissed when I took that. So I really do believe it's the quality of most of the stuff being churned out now that's the problem, rather than other factors.
as they were so heavy duty, but this was during the time when those of a certain ilk still thought taking flatliners were a good idea...