Mercury in MDMA

[vecktor]

Metallic mercury is not that toxic. In the 19th century, people even used to drink cups of metallic mercury as a laxative ...and they lived for a long time afterwards.
However, certain compounds of mercury are extremely toxic.

If you ingest even micrograms of one of these toxic mercury compounds, then your health (or even life) will be in serious jeopardy. Just read up on Wikipedia about the accident of Karen Wetterhahn.

dimethylmercury the most toxic of the series is over 200mg lethal dose, with obvious toxic symptoms at perhaps one 50th of that. Like methyl mercury it is a cumulative poison, methyl mercury causes Minamata disease.

The evidence seems clear that there is simply not enough mercury present in MDMA tablets to be an issue and most commercial MDMA and therefore most MDMA production by volume is not synthesised using aluminium almalgam reductive amination ergo most mdma will not contain significant amounts of mercury.
If the MDMA was made by reductive amination with aluminium amalgam with a completely incompetent synthesis then the mercury is going to be in the elemental form absorbed possibly on aluminium oxide hydroxide which is insoluble there is no realistic way that it is going to be in the form of methyl or dimethyl mercury where does the methyl come from?
The calculations are up thread.

LTC is more likely due to MDMA causing the surfacing of latent psychological issues in some people combined with the depressive after effect of MDMA itself.

 

[Glubrahnum]

If the MDMA was made by reductive amination with aluminium amalgam with a completely incompetent synthesis then the mercury is going to be in the elemental form absorbed possibly on aluminium oxide hydroxide which is insoluble there is no realistic way that it is going to be in the form of methyl or dimethyl mercury where does the methyl come from?

I suspect that methyl iodide can form inadvertently in some of the popular methamphetamine synths involving red phosphorus and iodine, when methanol is used as a solvent. The alkali metals used in these synths can methylate any mercury contaminants in presence of the methyl iodide.
These methamphetamine synths do not use Hg, though ...but others synths - do.
I would be surprised if any large-scale MDMA manufacturing operation used amalgams in their process, so most MDMA on the market today, should NOT have had any contact with mercury during its production. Small-time operations are a different story, but they have such small market impact, that they would affect only local supply.

I have never seen mercury with MDMA but Hg was associated with methamphetamine content.

 

[vecktor]

I suspect that methyl iodide can form inadvertently in some of the popular methamphetamine synths involving red phosphorus and iodine, when methanol is used as a solvent. The alkali metals used in these synths can methylate any mercury contaminants in presence of the methyl iodide.
These methamphetamine synths do not use Hg, though ...but others synths - do.
I would be surprised if any large-scale MDMA manufacturing operation used amalgams in their process, so most MDMA on the market today, should NOT have had any contact with mercury during its production. Small-time operations are a different story, but they have such small market impact, that they would affect only local supply.

I have never seen mercury with MDMA but Hg was associated with methamphetamine content.

sorry I don't follow your logic. If methamphetamine is made by RP/I2 then there are no alkali metals or mercury involved, there may be methyl iodide formed in limited quantities but there is no mercury and no alkali metals so no methyl mercury, RP I is ephedrine or pseudoephedrine plus RP plus I2 in solvent. Methamphetamine made by RP I has several distinctive impurities.

If methamphetamine is made by Birch or its variations it is pseudoephedrine ephedrine plus lithium or sodium in ammonia or ammonia ether, no iodine no mercury so no methyl mercury.

If methamphetamine is made by the biker method from P2P methylamine and aluminium amalgam then you have mercury but no methyl source and once again you can't form organic alkyl mercury compoounds.

If methampheatimine is made by the large scale method of P2P methylamine/nitromethane hydride then no mercury no alkali metals and no methyl source so no methyl mercury.

In conclusion I agree there are possibly traces inorganic mercury in methamphetamine made by Hg-Al reductive amination of p2p and likewise it is possible to have inorganic mercurytraces in MDMA made by the Hg-Al reductive amination of MD P2P (aka PMK) not organic mercurials like methyl mercury or dimethyl mercury.

Methyl iodide is very volatile Bp is 42oC and is not going to hang around.
The idea that methyl iodide contaminated methamphetamine is being added at the start of a reaction into a synthetic route that has both mercury as well as alkali or alkaline earth metals at the same time which generates methyl mercury, is not plausible at all.

Mercury toxicity is more a danger to the producers of these drugs than the consumers.

Can you clarify who is the original source of this supposed analysis which was requoted by jaredborgetti in post #29 of this thread?

"I just tested another batch of white powder (not tan) sold as Ecstasy in Amsterdam and the results are:
77% 2,3-MDP2P Glycidate
8% Methamphetamine HCl
0.6% Dibenzylketone
0.003% Methylmercury !
...and Excipients

Obviously, this will not be consumed.

P.S.
Most likely, this would not even pass the Marquis test."

 

[Glubrahnum]

Yes, that's why I wrote "these methamphetamine synths do not use Hg, though ...but others synths - do. ".
By "other synths", I had MDMA synths in mind.

The mercury could be carried over from a botched MDMA synth. To exhaustively analyze this you'd have to consider all the possibilities of MDMA and Methamphetamine synths combined together, e.g. in shared glassware.

P.S.
I did the analysis.

 

[heatlessbbq]

Didja do an "acetoene" wash, Mate? *nudge nudge*

 

[trogere]

.

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm right there with you IS300. I've been dealing with mercury toxicity since a year ago, perhaps longer.
Symptoms: Brain Fog, depersonalization, high anxiety, depression, brain pressure, vertigo, general dizziness and unbalanced, pins and needles in my feet, etc

Besides the possibility of trace amounts of mercury in MDMA, I also had "Silver" mercury dental amalgams (now safely removed). I figured it out 8 months ago that this was all mercury-related and I have been chelating since. I chose the Andy Culter Protocol route. Even though you recommended against it, there was some good information on there regarding High Thiol Food intolerances that for some people helps greatly with mercury-related symptoms. Did you ever consider chelating with ALA (on a proper half-life schedule?

How are you dealing with Bartonella? I'm trying to work through mercury and hoping that will help my immune system get rid of what I believe is also Bartonella (no conclusive results from blood tests). Do you also get spontaneous scratch marks appearing on your skin? This has been the weirdest symptom.

Anyone with silver (mercury) dental amalgams PLEASE BEWARE:
It seems many MDMA harm prevention sites recommend RALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) as an antioxidant. However, RALA or ALA actually chelates and improperly mobilizes mercury if you have amalgams. That and the fact that RALA/ALA crosses the blood-brain barrier can really mess you up if you have "silver" dental amalgams. Essentially pulling mercury from your amalgams and ultimately dropping it in your system, organs, and brain.

I suffered a lot from mercury poisoning because of amalgams. My life is much better now, after 2 years of ACC chelation (DMSA and ALA). In the past year, I switched to emeramide, also named OSR or NBMI for chelation. In the past few months, I added another protocol on top of that, combining copper and various co-factors.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Well, here's the synth using the aluminum mercury amalgam reduction, directly with MDP2P and nitromethane.

Chemically it's almost impossible for mercury contamination if you remove the mercury salts after the reaction.

You can crystallize it in toluene with HCL gas, and then if there's any impurities (mercuric chloride) left wash your beautiful MDMA with acetone, in which the chloride salt of mercury is soluble.

MDMA Synthesis by Reductive Amination of MDP2P with Al/Hg and Nitromethane - [www.rhodium.ws]

 

[Nelson1233]

I really don't care if you truly believe it is mercury and keep up with the flushing chelation or whatever other crap demercuriation treatment you are pursuing.
if you look at it objectively then you can improve both your health and maintain your bank balance.
you don't have mercury poisoning from an mdma pill.

You're an idiot. Stop defending mdma so damn much.

 

[snmfmy]

The problem with mercury is that once it enters the body it never leaves, so it will accumulate in you for all your life.
There are therapies though.

That's completely not true.

 

[snmfmy]

Im going to speak from experience here, I consider myself a responsible user of MDMA, and I researched extensively on bluelight and other forums as well as other websites on MDMA and I didnt have the most remote idea that there was lethal dosages of mercury in some batches of MDMA, I always test my drugs with multiple reagents made by myself, as well as trying to only purchase from reasonable connects, I personally speaking from myself I would have never in my whole life touched MDMA if I knew this was even possible and I personally know that if people were informed of this as rare as it might be most people would never touch this substance, that would be akin to saying:

Some samples of cocaine might contain lethal dosages of cyanide, we dont even know how frequently it happens, so its a russian roulette every time you take cocaine, the possiblity might be vanishingly small or high, we dont really know, but it exists so take your own decision.

Do you think people would keep taking cocaine or even try it at all? I guarantee most people would never touch it, and if this is true after all then absolutely yes some people with "long term comedowns" are actually people poisoned by mercury, and thats not counting people that have died from mercury toxicity due to mdma if this really happens, so what im trying to say is that we need to clarify this topic and if it really is a topic we need to make the information get out to users and warn them, I personally researched a lot about MDMA and I read a lot on it, I always test my drugs with multiple reagents and I thought I was safe, and I didnt even know about this, and thats me who researched this intensively, the absolute overwhelming majority of even harm reduction users of MDMA do not know about this and we have to get this information out and clarify this topic if its for real.

There are no recreational doses of MDMA that contain lethal doses of mercury.

They do not exist.

 

[snmfmy]

I happened to revisit this website for the first time in 3 years, and felt compelled to write this....

I have been suffering from an LTC from an MDMA tablet since June 2015. It was an orange tesla. I can personally confirm that these LTC's are in fact mercury poisoning. The degree of suffering it has caused is unfathomable. For a long time (literally years) it was my goal every day just to not put a gun to my head. I felt like I was being constantly electrocuted 24/7. The buzzing, pressure, and neurological impairment inside my head was unreal. It has been absolutely DEVASTATING to my life, and wrecked my immune system. I've had to treat multiple systemic infections due to the degree of immune suppression. Granted, I do some genetic methylation impairments that makes me slightly less able to handle mercury than other people, but the majority of people out there have some degree of methylation defect. I was also eating tuna frequently around the time it happened, but you know what? I took a pill one night and woke up in what can only be described as a torturous nightmare. I am also not new to rolling, I had taken several pills in the past and been totally fine. This was probably my 15th roll ever

I am significantly better now, but my health is still extremely unstable. I was an engineer that graduated at the top of my class from a highly-regarded university.... And now? On the days when I have enough energy, I deliver pizzas just so I can afford medical treatment. I feel like I already have Alzheimer's. And for what? A one-time roll? It's just not fucking worth it people. Somebody NEEDS to get the word out about this.

The LTC is 100% curable however. There is hope. You can recover.

No, they're not Mercury poisoning.
The amount of mercury you would get is less than one tuna sandwich.

I guarantee you that you did not get exposed to enough mercury to cause mercury poisoning or long-term come down.
"The procedures were applied to the determination of both elements in nine ecstasy samples; mercury was the element present in higher concentrations, ranging from 0.05 to 1.23 mg/kg, while the range of arsenic concentrations was 0.04–0.49 mg/kg."

That means the highest incidence of mercury would be 1.23 micrograms in a gram or conversely 300 nanograms in A 250 mg tablet.

An average 5-ounce serving (1 can) of albacore tuna contains 49.53 micrograms of mercury. *An average 5-ounce serving of tuna steak or tuna sushi could contain up to 97.49 micrograms

So there's 50 times more mercury in a can of tuna fish than the highest level of mercury sampled in any MDMA.

You have HPA axis dysregulation, or an affective/anxiety disorder or a combination of both that was either latent and revealed by the use of whatever substance you ingested or is a sequelae of the HPA axis dysregulation.

You don't have mercury poisoning from MDMA. It's literally not possible.

 

[snmfmy]

Yes I did get testing done, and I met with a toxicologist. By the time I tested for heavy metals, this was 7 months in. My blood mercury was 5.1ug/L which according to the to the toxicologist indicated "mild" mercury poisoning.

It is important to know that this was 7 months post exposure because in the chronic state, your blood levels will be FAR less. There is no way of accurately testing the intracellular concentration of mercury that's actually poisoning you. It also jams the biochemical machinery that is required to detox it and push it out into the blood.

It's possible there are other factors here like the tuna intake, an asymptomatic Lyme-like blood infection called Bartonella, and the fact I was exposed to black mold in my apartment for 2 years. All of these factors may have piled up, causing inflammation and taxing my methyl supply. Then a nice dose of mercury from an mdma pill could have be the final trigger to send me spiraling downward. Everything sure went to shit after eating that pill.

Yes I am getting better and will recover 100%
The key was realizing it was mercury and treating for that. But by that time I also had infections that needed treating. It's a very complex illness.

You didn't get it from MDMA.

You wouldn't even get one microgram from an MDMA pill. The highest dose you would get from a full gram would be 1.23 micrograms.

But as I posted above one can of tuna is 50 micrograms which is probably where your mercury came from. Tuna, salmon, mackerel, basically any ocean seafood, especially sushi. Oh, and if you're one of those people were like I only eat organic rice. Well guess what? Full of Mercury

 

[Didgital]

You didn't get it from MDMA.

You wouldn't even get one microgram from an MDMA pill. The highest dose you would get from a full gram would be 1.23 micrograms.

Where did you come up with this figure?

 

[snmfmy]

Where did you come up with this figure?

The study that found and sampled Mercury in MDMA said the highest amount found was 1.23 mg per kilogram that equals 1.23 micrograms per gram. (1 gram is 1/1000th of a kilogram, one microgram is 1/1000th of a milligram)

Simple math. (It's just dividing by a thousand)

And as far as not getting a microgram in a pill well you take 1.23 micrograms and divided by 4 to determine how much would be in a pill that had 250 mg of MDMA and the answer is 0.3 micrograms.

I didn't actually paste the link into the body of the post. I'll go and try and dig it up but the data that I posted is absolutely correct.

 

[snmfmy]

Yes, that's why I wrote "these methamphetamine synths do not use Hg, though ...but others synths - do. ".
By "other synths", I had MDMA synths in mind.

The mercury could be carried over from a botched MDMA synth. To exhaustively analyze this you'd have to consider all the possibilities of MDMA and Methamphetamine synths combined together, e.g. in shared glassware.

P.S.
I did the analysis.

Shared not cleaned glassware is not a thing. Chemists who don't clean glassware between synthesis of different compounds end up without their glassware very quickly at best or wind up dead at worst.

There aren't chemists doing a hydroiodic acid reduction of Sudafed to methamphetamine and then using the glassware without proper cleaning to make MDMA.

JUST LIKE THERE'S NOT LOTS OF MERCURY IN MDMA.

The highest value of contamination found was 1.23 mg per kilogram which is the same as 1.23 micrograms per gram which is the same as 0.3 micrograms for a 250 mg pill.

A can of tuna fish has 50 micrograms. So a can of tuna has 150 times the amount of mercury that a 250 mg pill made out of the most Mercury contaminated MDMA that was found.

Yes it is that ridiculous.

 

[snmfmy]

Where did you come up with this figure?

Determination of mercury and arsenic in ecstasy tablets by electrochemical methods - Forensic Toxicology

Mercury and arsenic concentrations were determined in ecstasy tablets, which were obtained from different police seizures in Spain, by electrochemical techniques; mercury by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry with a rotating gold disk electrode, and arsenic by cathodic stripping...

link.springer.com

1.23 mg/kg was the highest level of contamination from mercury out of the samples tested.

That's equivalent to 1.23 micrograms per gram. Simple math.

The average amount of mercury in a can of tuna is 50 micrograms in a can.

5 oz. Of tuna sushi contains around 100 micrograms of mercury.

I wonder how many of these long-term mercury poisoned from MDMA are sitting eating sushi at restaurants?

If you need me to find you the citations for mercury in tuna fish I can do it. But it's everywhere.

 

[Didgital]

Determination of mercury and arsenic in ecstasy tablets by electrochemical methods - Forensic Toxicology

Mercury and arsenic concentrations were determined in ecstasy tablets, which were obtained from different police seizures in Spain, by electrochemical techniques; mercury by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry with a rotating gold disk electrode, and arsenic by cathodic stripping...

link.springer.com

1.23 mg/kg was the highest level of contamination from mercury out of the samples tested.

That's equivalent to 1.23 micrograms per gram. Simple math.

The average amount of mercury in a can of tuna is 50 micrograms in a can.

5 oz. Of tuna sushi contains around 100 micrograms of mercury.

I wonder how many of these long-term mercury poisoned from MDMA are sitting eating sushi at restaurants?

If you need me to find you the citations for mercury in tuna fish I can do it. But it's everywhere.

Ty