Government officials and doctors, meanwhile, warn that such up-for-down usage patterns can only lead to experimentation with more harmful substances and strengthen dependencies.
Wang, 25, is a regular Taipei youth who once loved weekend partying. But he had one experience too many with ecstasy. His bad trip kept him "fried" for four days straight, psychologically disturbed for two weeks after that, and may have caused permanent damage to his central nervous system. Before this, he considered himself "a casual user" and had only taken the drug 10 or 11 times. Now he has been sidelined with what his physician believes to be a rare brain disorder.
Cut-price drug
There is no assurance that Wang's condition was necessarily triggered by MDMA; most users agree that local "E" is often cut with other drugs. The laboratories of the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau also show a high level of impurities in local MDMA pills, which they say are most commonly cut with ketamine and stimulants like methamphetamine, caffeine and ephedrine. For Wang, one thing at least is clear: "You know something's got to be wrong if it feels that good."
Between an afternoon workout and an evening bushiban class, Isabelle sits in a coffee shop near the train station, talking to her ecstasy connection on a cell phone.
For someone like her at the bottom of the supply chain, ecstasy deals tend to take place within circles of friends. Suppliers are usually viewed more as friends and facilitators than as dealers or pushers. Often, the drug is simply passed around within a group, though larger scores are generally ordered over the phone, like pizza.
Isabelle talks into her phone, asking, "blue or brown, what's the difference?"
Brown is brown taichi, 80 percent pure and Taiwan made at NT$350 a tablet.
The blue is purple butterfly, a slightly higher grade from Holland, 100 percent pure at NT$400 a tablet, says her contact.
So Isabelle puts in an order for 30 of the brown taichi, ten each for herself and her two sisters.
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