From Pleasure to Pain: Inside MDMA Drug Labs

This investigation from The Feed examines the global production and consumption of MDMA, tracing the drug's journey from the cook to the consumer. Australians are among the world's biggest users of ecstasy, yet far less attention is paid to where MDMA comes from and the networks responsible for producing it. As debates around festival deaths, pill testing, and drug policy continue, The Feed travels from Australia to the Netherlands to uncover the people, laboratories, and supply chains behind one of the world's most popular party drugs.

"It's a show about harm reduction, drugs education, where we try drugs and tell you everything about the history of drugs, how it's made, what it feels like, the risks, the dangers."

"Things in the Netherlands are a little different. Unlike in Australia, drug use isn't illegal and you're allowed to possess small amounts of soft substances like weed. You can even buy it in coffee shops. The country’s approach to drugs has led to some things that really would never be seen back home."³

"This YouTube program, DrugsLab, is funded by the Dutch government and one of its national public broadcasters. In each episode, one of the hosts tries a popular drug or talks about drug-related topics."⁴

"While Australians are the world’s biggest individual consumers of ecstasy, the Netherlands is the world’s biggest producer. They make around 80% of the world’s synthetic drugs and a lot of that comes from here in the country’s south. The Dutch synthetic drugs industry is worth an estimated 19 billion euros annually and crime gangs are taking advantage of some of the best things about the Netherlands."⁵

¹ During the 2010s, Chinese chemical suppliers became a major source of PMK glycidate and other synthetic drug precursors sold through online marketplaces. Because PMK glycidate is widely used in the illicit manufacture of MDMA, international authorities increased monitoring and trade controls, prompting traffickers to continually seek alternative precursor chemicals to evade regulation.
² The Netherlands remains one of the world's primary MDMA production and trafficking hubs. European drug market data indicates Dutch criminal networks continue to dominate global ecstasy trafficking routes, with the Netherlands identified as the origin of a large share of MDMA seizures worldwide. Much of the MDMA produced there is destined for higher-profit export markets, including Australia and other countries outside Europe.
³ The Netherlands operates a "toleration policy" (gedoogbeleid) under which possession of small amounts of cannabis for personal use is generally not prosecuted, despite remaining technically illegal under Dutch law. Hard drugs such as MDMA, cocaine, and heroin remain fully illegal and subject to criminal enforcement.
⁴ DrugsLab was created by Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA as an educational project aimed at providing young people with factual information about drugs and their effects. Over its 3.5-year run, the channel attracted more than one million subscribers and viewers from 157 countries before ending production in 2019.
⁵ Recent UNODC data indicate that Australia and New Zealand continue to report the highest prevalence of MDMA/ecstasy use globally, despite the largest overall consumer markets being located in East and South-East Asia and Western and Central Europe.