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Last update: March 2025
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is an illicit drug of synthetic origin commonly known as ecstasy (X, XTC, molly, mandy, md) although the latter term has now been generalised to cover a wide range of other substances (see section Retail markets — price and purity). It acts as a central nervous system stimulant and elicits euphoric and ‘entactogenic’ (1) effects more accurately described as increased sensory awareness.
MDMA was first patented by the German pharmaceutical company Merck in 1912 (Merck, 1914) and tested as a potential anti-clotting agent and as an alternative to epinephrine (adrenaline). The drug was never commercially produced or widely known until experimental use of MDMA as a psycho-pharmacological tool began in the 1970s (Shulgin and Shulgin, 1991). At that time, its supply was guaranteed by research chemists with an interest in exploring its properties and in supporting therapeutic circles. Use of the substance gradually spread outside those settings. By the 1980s MDMA had become a fixture of the house/rave and techno music scenes in the United States and, later, in Europe. Illicit laboratories were established in the United States to supply the growing dance scene, with some of that production making its way to Europe (Nuwer, 2023). Increasing demand led to the emergence of small-scale laboratories in the Netherlands, where amphetamine production was already established and ‘research chemicals’ were also being produced. Concerns over its safety triggered heated debate, which ultimately led to the decision to place it in Schedule I of the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 1986 (Dunlap et al., 2018; United Nations, 1986).
By 2008, Europe had become an established worldwide exporter of MDMA, with most of its production based in the Netherlands (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime [UNODC], 2008). Dutch prominence in the MDMA market may have been facilitated by the country’s existing infrastructure for illicit synthetic drug production (including experience in building and handling illicit distillation equipment) and by well-established criminal partnerships (Soudijn and Vijlbrief, 2011).
At that time, MDMA was mostly sold as ecstasy: relatively plain, white or off-whitetablets pressed with a limited range of recognisable logos. Between 2009 and 2011, shortages in MDMA production associated with the lack of availability of safrole (one of its key precursors) resulted in the circulation of ecstasy tablets with little or no MDMA content, and a subsequent drop in consumer confidence (EMCDDA, 2016). To compensate for this, MDMA in crystal form was introduced in the market, and was both promoted by distributors and perceived by users as being purer and more reliable. MDMA shortages proved to be short-lived, however, as alternatives to safrole were soon found: first PMK, quickly followed by related ‘designer precursors’ (i.e., chemicals closely related with a controlled precursor but with limited or inexistent legitimate use). As such, from 2011 onwards, ecstasy tablets (mostly) containing MDMA were re-established in the market, sometimes in the form of brightly-coloured and distinctively shaped high-strength tablets with a vast range of logos, partly in a marketing effort to restore consumer confidence in the product (Mounteney et al., 2018). Since 2011, MDMA is commonly found on consumer markets as both ecstasy tablets and MDMA crystals (see Box 1.1. Forms of MDMA present on the European market).
In just over 50 years, MDMA has expanded from a small niche drug used in therapeutic circles in the United States to a globally known drug used by some 20 million people worldwide, according to 2021 estimates (UNODC, 2023). In large part, this market is supplied by European illicit drug producers; however, as this report explores, new markets are developing and there are signs that new players are becoming involved in production. From its production centres in the Netherlands and Belgium to its worldwide destinations, trans-European criminal cooperation is evident in every step of the supply chain. The MDMA market is large and profitable for the criminal networks involved in producing, trafficking and distributing the drug. Based on the most recent EUDA estimates, Europeans who use MDMA spend approximately EUR 594 million per year purchasing the drug. Although this is a relatively small amount compared to other drugs such as cocaine or cannabis, MDMA is also likely to generate considerable profits in external markets.
(1) The term ‘entactogen’ is composed of the Greek roots en and gen, which mean within and to generate, respectively, and the Latin tactus, to touch, to mean that which ‘touches from within’ (Nichols, 1986, 2022). The term was coined to substitute the term ‘empathogen’ previously attributed to MDMA, which highlighted subjective effects of ‘strong propensity to induce empathy and feelings of connectedness’ (Dunlap et al., 2018).
References
Consult the list of references used in this module.
