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Dave Weir and Nicky Killeen at the HSE drug testing lab at Electric Picnic. Valerie Flynn/The Journal
harm reduction
Inside the drug testing lab at Electric Picnic as 'unpredictable' 3-CMC falsely sold as MDMA found
The HSE has also warned this weekend that some MDMA pills it tested were very high strength.
HSE SCIENTISTS TESTING drugs surrendered by Electric Picnic attendees this afternoon detected a third sample of the stimulant 3-CMC which had been mis-sold as MDMA.
The two drugs have different effects and come-downs, and taking a drug that does not act the way you expect it to is likely to be scary.
The HSE is warning this weekend that 3-CMC has very unpredictable effects, and risks are higher when you don’t know what you are taking. The synthetic drug has a compulsive re-dosing effect.
The Journal visited the HSE’s drug testing laboratory at the Stradbally festival this afternoon with Dave Weir, a consultant psychiatrist in addiction services, and Nicky Killeen, project manager on emerging drug trends in the health service.
Weir brought with him a sample that had been surrendered by a festival-goer at the HSE’s drugs tent in the festival campsite. It was sold as crystal MDMA and had been bought in Cork. MDMA is a central nervous system stimulant and also has a psychoactive effect.
At the lab, located away from the main festival arena, senior biochemist Sinéad McNamara, who works with the HSE’s emerging trends laboratory, first photographs the sample of purported MDMA and catalogues it.
Then she places it under a machine called a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer that checks how a compound absorbs infrared light and compares it against a catalogue to identify what it is.
McNamara’s screen shows a wave pattern that represents this substance’s reading – and quickly discovers that is 3-CMC.
“This is the third one submitted,” McNamara says.
This is the fifth year of the HSE’s drug testing programme and to get three samples of one thing sold as another like this is unusual.
Weir, the consultant psychiatrist, says it’s likely people are handing it in because it’s not having the effects they expected.
Killeen, of the HSE emerging drug trend programme, says experts have expected 3-CMC and other drugs of this class – cathinones – to become more prevalent in Ireland as this is a trend that has been seen in Europe.
Over 30 drug samples have been handed in and tested this weekend. The HSE can’t contact individuals to let them know what was in their drugs after they have been tested, but it is sharing its findings with festival-goers on social media and in conversations at its two tents on site.
Many medical students and Drug Taskforce workers have volunteered to work with the HSE’s drug harm reduction programme this weekend.
Festival-goers of all ages have handed in drug samples or stopped by to talk to the staff and volunteers.
Killeen welcomed Electric Picnic’s strong support for the initiative and praised its welfare crew. She said it’s clear from volunteers’ conversations with festival-goers that harm reduction messages, including to start with a low dose if you are taking drugs and to not mix substances, are being heard.
The HSE has the resources to offer drug testing at two festivals this summer and has prioritised Electric Picnic – the largest and most diverse – and upcoming dance music event District X in Kildare next month.
The HSE has also warned this weekend that some MDMA pills it tested were very high strength, raising the risk of overheating, dehydration and heart strain.
The HSE drug testing tents at Electric Picnic are located beside the Red Bull bar near the Electric Arena tent, and in the Jimi Hendrix campsite.
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