#TestIt Alert: Clear capsule of brown powder sold in San Diego, CA as MDMA but actually contains caffeine, lidocaine, MDPV, and 5-MeO-DALT 

By: Rachel Clark, DanceSafe Contractor A clear capsule containing a brown powder was sold in San Diego, CA as MDMA but actually contained 5 parts caffeine, 2 parts lidocaine, 1 part MDPV, and 1 part 5-MeO-DALT. The sender noted that it has a very strong, odd smell. The sample was both sourced and sold in San Diego, CA.  The sample turned yellow to brown in the presence of Marquis and red-brown in the presence of both Mecke and Mandelin reagents.  Caffeine is a common adulterant of MDMA, due to its...

Bath Salts Will Not Turn You Into a Cannibal

On May 26, 2012, Rudy Eugene, a 31-year-old car wash employee, violently attacked Ronald Poppo, a 65-year-old houseless man he encountered on Miami's McArthur Causeway. Eugene gnawed off most of his victim's face in an 18-minute assault that ended after he was shot by a police officer. Based on no evidence, and on one police officer's speculation alone, news outlets all over the world caught wind of the bizarre incident, attributing Eugene's savage violence to the use of "bath salts," -- a term used to describe synthetic cathinones like mephedrone (4-MMC), alpha-PVP, and