Next week it’s time for the Amsterdam Dance Event again. A week entirely dedicated to electronic music. The term “party drugs” is inextricably linked to the rise of this musical movement. Mainly synthetic drugs have become an integral part of the dance floor, but what exactly are they?
Most drugs are of plant origin: the basis of the narcotic occurs naturally in nature. Think alcohol, opium, nicotine, cannabis and caffeine. Synthetic drugs, on the other hand, are molecular compounds created in the laboratory. Many of these “engineered” substances fall under the Dutch opium law. This means they are banned due to health risks. The use of drugs is therefore not without risks.
XTC / MDMA
MDMA is not a new drug, but it is over a hundred years old. The substance was first formulated in 1912. MDMA had therapeutic use for a time in the 1970s. Psychiatrists used the drug, which made patients more open and less emotionally inhibited. Since 1980, ecstasy has increasingly been sold on the street. The drug has ended up in the circles of hippies, yuppies and students. when techno house as new musical trends emerged, XTC proved to be the perfect drug for nightly dance marathons.
Ecstasy, MDMA, ecstasy, E, X or M is the most commonly used hard drug in the Netherlands. Almost all ecstasy pills contain MDMA. There is also a powder and crystal form of Ecstasy. This is often referred to as MDMA powder, crystals, or M for short. The active ingredient is in principle always the same: MDMA. And the chemical structure of MDMA is reminiscent of both mescaline and methamphetamine. The psychedelic and stimulating effects of the central nervous system are caused by the neurotransmitter serotonin and, to a lesser extent, dopamine.
Effects:
- Mentally:
- Blissful sensation or warm glow flowing through the body
- Energetic, clear, fit and alert
- Euphoria, cheerful and cheerful
- Perception and sounds become more intense
- Warm, open, in love, a strong need for contact, conversation, intimacy and privacy
- At high doses, confusion, anxiety and hallucinations are possible
- Physically:
- Increased heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature
- Sometimes nausea
- Reduced appetite
- Students of enlargement
- Tense muscles
- Stiff or tight jaws, clenched teeth
- Dry mouth and feeling of thirst
- Difficulty urinating
- Increased stamina
- Uncommon sweating, nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness
Risks:
- Overheating (hyperthermia)
- Water intoxication (hyponatremia)
- Liver damage
- Serotonin syndrome
- Damage to the teeth
- Bad travel anxiety attack
- Psychological complaints
2C-B
2C-B was discovered in 1974 by Alexander Shulgin, a scientist interested in psychoactive substances. Like ecstasy, this drug is mainly used in psychiatry. In the 1990s, the use shifted to the recreational sphere. Until 1997, the drug was on sale in smart shops under the name of Nexus.
2C-B is a drug that is often sold as a pill, usually slightly smaller than an XTC pill. The effect of 2C-B depends on the dose. At high doses it is a trigger agent, at lower doses the effect is more similar to that of ecstasy. A low dose (5 to 10 milligrams for adults and mature people) gives a slightly euphoric and stimulating effect. At higher doses of 10 to 12 milligrams you will have hallucinations. Colors become more intense, objects distort and faces change. Dosages above 30 milligrams are strong.
Effects:
- Sense of connection and openness
- Euphoria
- Lachkick
- Power
- Change in sensory perception
- See: colors are more intense, shapes can change, walls seem to breathe, faces can look different, tracing (perceiving multiple versions of a shape, like a hand when moving),
- Hearing: the musical experience is more intense
- Synesthesia: the senses seem intertwined. You can see the sounds and taste the colors.
Risks:
- Kaakklem
- Cardiovascular problems
- Overheating
- Insult (epilepsy)
- Delirium
- Confusion
Ketamine
K, Ket, Keta, Special K, Vitamin K or Ketamine were invented around 1962 and have replaced PCP as a synthetic anesthetic in the medical world since the 1970s. In addition to the narcotic, Keta also has a hallucinogenic effect. Today it is used less and less in the medical world and more and more in festivals and raves. The remedy is very popular at home after.
The medical variant of ketamine is liquid, but for recreational use it is almost always a powder (and sometimes a pill). In low doses, it has a somewhat dreamy effect. The higher the dose, the stronger the narcotic, dissociative and hallucinogenic effects. This can eventually lead to a k-hole. A k-hole is likened to a near-death experience or an out-of-body experience in which they sometimes visit higher entities. Since you can no longer move into a k-hole, this can be a scary experience.
Effects:
- Low-dose:
- dreamy and floating state
- disoriented: you have less control over your coordination
- In high doses:
- Feeling that your hands no longer belong to your body
- The idea as if your body is made of wood, rubber or plastic
- Feeling that parts of the body are much larger or smaller than they actually are
- Not knowing where the arms or legs are anymore
- The feeling of ‘dissolving’ into the environment
- Stop feeling if a part of the body is yours or someone else’s
- The idea that your mind is in a completely different dimension from your body
- The idea of getting out of your body (“out of body experience”)
- Visual hallucinations (especially with closed eyes)
- A changed idea of time
Risks:
- Due to the impaired coordination and numbing effect, you can be severely injured without experiencing any pain
- Nausea and vomit; you can choke on your own vomit if you can’t turn around anymore due to the muscle relaxant effect
- Bad trip
- Memory disturbances
- Bladder and kidney problems which may be permanent
- When combined with alcohol or other drugs, such as GHB: loss of consciousness, impaired breathing and death
- Habits and addictions
GHB
GHB was isolated from mammalian tissues in 1960 by the French researcher Laborit. He was looking for a substance that had a similar effect to the neurotransmitter GABA, which makes the brain work slower. After GHB has been isolated, it could also be chemically counterfeited. This first happened in 1961.
GHB appears on the market as a sleep aid, as an anesthetic and as a drug against narcolepsy. GHB is still in use for narcolepsy. In the 1990s, GHB was sold in smart stores as “liquid ecstasy,” but the drug has nothing to do with MDMA. Despite the ban on its sale in 1996, the drug is gaining popularity in the nightlife scene.
Effects:
- Mentally:
- feeling blissful, happy, relaxed
- disappearance of fears and inhibitions
- talkative
- sexually aroused
- confusion
- temporary memory problems
- Physically:
- Sensitive to touch
- Make you dizzy
- Headache
- Nausea, vomiting
- Vibrate
- Weak sensation in the muscles
- Being overwhelmed by uncontrollable sleep
Risk’:
- Short term:
- forgetfulness
- nausea
- aggressive behavior
- convulsions
- speech problems
- unpleasant experience (no longer keeping an eye on their limits and doing things they will later regret)
- faint or pass out
- Long term:
- dependence
- possible physical damage
- damage resulting from regular use of GHB
4FA of 4-FMP
The aforementioned synthetic drugs have been with us for a long time. 4-FA or 4FMP is still quite new. It has only been on the Dutch market for a short time. In the period from 2007 to 2009 it was mainly sold as speed or MDMA. This is because there was a shortage of raw materials for these drugs at the time. Therefore, 4-FA was used as an excipient, it was added to the other substances. However, since 2010, it has increasingly been sold and used as a standalone drug. The drug has a similar effect to ecstasy.
Effects:
- Mentally:
- Energetic, clear, fit and alert
- Light euphoria, cheerful and cheerful
- Strong sense of belonging
- Intense experience of touch and music
- Strong need for contact, conversation and intimacy
- At high doses, confusion and anxiety are possible
- Physically:
- Increased heart rate / blood pressure and body temperature
- Sometimes nausea
- Reduced appetite
- Students of enlargement
- Tense muscles
- Stiff / tight jaws, gritted teeth
- Dry mouth / feeling of thirst
- Difficulty urinating
- Increased resistance that allows you to dance for hours
- Uncommon sweating, nausea, vomiting, dizziness
- (extreme) headache
- Difficulty sleeping
Risks:
- bad headache
- Overheating (hyperthermia)
- Heart arrhythmias, breathing problems and increased blood pressure
- Damage to the teeth
- Bad trip and psychological disorders
Have your medications tested (anonymously)
Party drugs can cause both physical and mental addiction. The user has the feeling that he is not tired or that he is hungry or thirsty. The body does not indicate it. As a result, it wears out in the long run. In addition, overdose and the use of pills containing harmful substances can cause harm to the body.
Are you going to use drugs on ADE? Then have your medications tested in one of the following places:
- GGD (Valckenierstraat 4 – Weesperplein): Monday to Friday 17.30-20.30, Saturday 13.30-16.30.
- Jellinek (J. Obrechtstraat 92 – Museumplein): Monday to Friday from 5pm to 8.30pm, closed on Saturdays.
Don’t miss the Amsterdam Dance Event 2022
This year the Amsterdam Dance Event will take place from 19th to 23rd October. You can indulge in parties like Awakenings, DGTL, Audio Obscura and Into The Woods. The Gashouder, the NDSM Pier and the Johan Cruyff ArenA, among others, are turning into the fattest clubs in the world. In addition, the day’s program is full of interesting workshops and lectures.
Festileaks extensively reports on the Amsterdam Dance Event 2022. Throughout the week we will warm you up for the festival in the capital with background stories and previews. We also share impressions about us Instagram-channel.
Amsterdam 2022 dance event
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Given
October 19-23, 2022
