Crush Dab Wait
Consider just ¼ of a pill, or a small dab of powder
Wait at least 1 hour before taking any more
Many pills in circulation contain a large amount of MDMA - sometimes up to 3x an average adult dose.
Pills that look the same, even from the same batch, may have different contents.
It may take longer to feel the effects. Always start with a small dose and wait for the effects to hit, this can take 90 minutes or more.
Avoid mixing with other drugs
Avoid mixing - alcohol & other drugs (eg. cocaine & ketamine) increase the risk
Mixing drugs increases risk - be aware of any interactions between drugs including alcohol & prescription medications including antidepressants (eg. SSRIs). Mixing with stimulants like cocaine and MDMA increases the risk to your heart.
Sip water regularly
Aim to drink around ½ pint (250mL) per hour
MDMA makes it difficult to pee and makes you feel thirsty. This means it’s easy to drink too much.
If you don’t urinate enough this can cause overhydration which is dangerous. If you are sweating a lot you will lose essential electrolytes your brain and body need. Drink slowly and replenish these eg. sports drinks are a good choice because they contain electrolytes.
Take frequent breaks to cool down
Pay attention to you body & be mindful of heatstroke
MDMA makes it hard for your body to control temperature. If you are in a hot, crowded environment it can be easy to overheat - wear loose clothing.
Take regular breaks from dancing in a cool area - your body will thank you the next day.
Ask for help if needed
Be aware of the signs of an emergency and know when to get help
Things to look out for: excessive sweating, disorientation, agitation, people who are hot to the touch or so hot they have stopped sweating. Pace yourself, know your limits & look after yourself & those around you.
Oral MDMA dosages, provided by www.Erowid.org
Light: 40-75 mg
Common (small or sensitive people): 60-90 mg
Common (most people): 75-125 mg
Common (larger or less sensitive people): 110-150 mg
The easiest way to stay safe is by not taking drugs; this guide is intended to minimise harm for those who decide to anyway.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information on this page is in keeping with the latest harm reduction advice.
However, please use your own judgement & supplement with your own research whenever possible.
The History of #CrushDabWait Saves Lives
The Loop’s summer 2015 #CrushDabWait campaign evolved out of concerns at the levels of use of MDMA crystal and the problems that festival goers and clubbers were experiencing as a consequence. One of the concerns identified by the Loop’s on-site testing and welfare teams was that users were swallowing very high purity MDMA crystal as whole rocks with little apparent awareness of the quantities they were consuming.
The wider context to this campaign is that the UK has amongst the highest rates of MDMA use in Europe, with 3.9% of 16-24 year olds reporting having used ecstasy in the past year in the latest Home Office Crime Survey for England and Wales. Ecstasy-related deaths have increased from 8 in 2010 to 57 in 2015 with a similar five-fold increase in the MDMA content in ecstasy pills analysed in the UK, alongside MDMA crystal circulating at over 80% purity. Here at the Loop we wanted to ask MDMA crystal users to think twice about their consumption in the same way that ecstasy users are recommended to ‘start with a half or a quarter and regularly drink water’.
Along with our colleagues at Chill Welfare, The Loop’s welfare teams cared for thousands of festival goers at music events in 2015, many of whom struggled to moderate or to measure the amount of MDMA crystal they took on site. There was a particular concern regarding the variations in purity, shape, size and density of MDMA crystals in circulation, making it even more difficult for users to guess consistently and accurately how much they were consuming. Therefore The Loop wanted to discourage users from swallowing whole crystals of MDMA and instead to think about how much MDMA they were consuming. The Loop’s Director developed #CrushDabWait, with input from B.Traits, AfEM, Transform and Ed Karney Music, to initiate a conversation with users about MDMA crystal dosage, and to suggest a crude way to measure it on site, if users had not measured out doses or ‘bombs’ before entry. Users were advised to crush up crystals into a fine powder, lick their finger tip to their first digit, and dab the powder to consume a small amount (estimated to be approximately 100mg of MDMA, the same as an average sized adult dose) then wait 1-2 hours for the effects of that dose before considering taking another.