Ecstasy use jumps in Europe, no longer just a dance drug

The drug ecstasy is making a comeback in Europe, spreading as a mainstream party narcotic away from its niche use at dance clubs and reaching new young users, the Lisbon-based European drug agency said in a report. The report found that 2.1 million people aged 15-34 had used ecstasy, or MDMA, in the past year in a reversal of declining use since the mid-2000s, when it was common at rave parties. "Europe has experienced a recent resurgence in the use of MDMA, with much stronger tablets and powders now commonly available," said Jane Mounteney, who heads content coordination and trend analysis at the drug agency. Data collected by the agency found big jumps in the amount of MDMA detected in wastewater in key cities where the drug is common, rising police seizures of ecstasy tablets and indications of more deaths related to the drug. The agency estimated that 5.5 million MDMA tables were seized in 2014 in Holland compared to 2.4 million in 2012. There have been recent reports of police dismantling large ecstasy laboratories in Holland and Belgium, where European production of the drug is concentrated, the report said. "This is particularly worrying since MDMA is moving into more...

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