Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Ecstasy pill testing: harm minimization gone too far?

A R Winstock1, K Wolff, J Ramsey

  • 1National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, UK.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|August 7, 2001
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Improved Neutron Lifetime Measurement with UCNτ.

Physical review letters·2021
Same author

First Measurement of the Total Neutron Cross Section on Argon between 100 and 800 MeV.

Physical review letters·2019
Same author

Self-injurious behaviours in rhesus macaques: Potential glial mechanisms.

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR·2018
Same author

Measurement of the neutron lifetime using a magneto-gravitational trap and in situ detection.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2018
Same author

A new method for measuring the neutron lifetime using an in situ neutron detector.

The Review of scientific instruments·2017
Same author

ZpdN, a Plasmid-Encoded Sigma Factor Homolog, Induces pBS32-Dependent Cell Death in Bacillus subtilis.

Journal of bacteriology·2016
Same journal

Longitudinal association of switching to dual cigarette and e-cigarette use vs. continued exclusive cigarette smoking with tobacco-specific nitrosamine and nicotine intake.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2026
Same journal

Novel product, familiar challenges: Navigating uncertainty in oral nicotine pouch regulation.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2026
Same journal

Craving and personal functioning as mediators of extended-release buprenorphine efficacy: A four-way decomposition analysis from a randomised trial.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2026
Same journal

Alcohol consumption and the risks of morbidity and mortality across 39 diseases and conditions: A population-based cohort study in Korea.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2026
Same journal

A cross-sectional and prospective examination of alcohol use and misuse among adult twin and sibling pairs discordant for neighborhood socio-economic disadvantage.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2026
Same journal

The Cannabis Research Image Database (CRESIDA): A standardized and validated image set for studying cannabis cue reactivity.

Addiction (Abingdon, England)·2026
See all related articles

Pill testing services for recreational drug users, including ecstasy, are a form of harm reduction. However, simple colorimetric tests are subjective and do not guarantee safety, with more advanced methods like GC-MS being more accurate but less accessible.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Drug Use and Harm Reduction

Background:

  • Harm reduction strategies are increasingly applied to recreational drug use.
  • Pill testing services have emerged in response to drug-related deaths, particularly from ecstasy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of pill testing as a harm reduction intervention for illicit drug users.
  • To critically assess the reliability and safety implications of different pill testing methods.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing pill testing services, including on-site color reagent kits (e.g., Marquis Reagent) and laboratory-based chromatographic analysis (HPLC, GC-MS).
  • Analysis of the accuracy and limitations of subjective color interpretation versus objective chromatographic identification of psychoactive constituents.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Color reagent tests provide subjective interpretations and cannot accurately identify drug content.
  • Only sophisticated techniques like gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) can reliably identify substances in ecstasy pills.
  • Pill testing does not guarantee user safety or protect against individual adverse reactions to drugs.

Conclusions:

  • Pill testing offers a false sense of security and does not eliminate the inherent risks of illicit drug use.
  • More effective harm reduction strategies beyond pill testing are likely needed for managing drug-related harms.