Berlin's internationally renowned nightlife provides the backdrop for an investigation into recreational drug use, club culture, and the risks facing partygoers. Beginning with the overdose death of a young American woman at Berghain, the film examines MDMA and other drugs commonly associated with the city's nightlife while exploring production, online drug markets, and access to illegal substances. Through clubgoers, medical professionals, researchers, law enforcement, and people working within Berlin's nightlife, it raises questions about drug safety, prevention, and responsibility within the city's influential club scene.
TOPICS: Ecstasy / MDMA, Empathogens, Germany, Nightlife, Stimulants
Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection track major drug smuggling operations entering the United States in this episode of To Catch a Smuggler. Investigators follow methamphetamine shipments through Atlanta and uncover 560 kilograms of liquid meth concealed inside paint buckets, while officers intercept large quantities of MDMA hidden in international parcels. Along the way, agents explain how trafficking organizations move drugs across borders, recruit lower-level couriers, conceal narcotics in everyday shipments, and build investigations designed to identify higher-ranking members of criminal networks.
TOPICS: Crime, Drug Trafficking, Ecstasy / MDMA, Law Enforcement, Methamphetamine, Stimulants, USA
Australians are among the world's biggest consumers of ecstasy, but where does MDMA actually come from? This investigation follows the drug from clandestine laboratories and chemical suppliers to international trafficking networks and the people who consume it. Travelling from Australia to the Netherlands, reporters examine MDMA production, precursor chemicals, the dark web, and the criminal networks supplying the global market. The investigation also explores Dutch drug policy and harm reduction, revealing a very different approach to drug education while examining the risks surrounding one of the world's most popular party drugs.
This episode of VICE: High Society examines why ecstasy has become increasingly dangerous in the United Kingdom, where stronger pills, higher MDMA concentrations, and unpredictable adulterants have contributed to a rise in drug-related harm. Speaking with researchers, harm reduction advocates, and drug checking services, the documentary explores how changes in the illicit drug market have increased the risks associated with ecstasy use. It also highlights practical harm reduction strategies, including drug testing and dose awareness, that can help reduce the likelihood of overdose and other serious health consequences.
