Party drug MDMA being swapped out for cathinones is thought to be on the rise, according to drug-checking agency KnowYourStuff.
Several of their clinics, established to provide a safe place to test drugs, have identified a growing trend of MDMA being either substituted or a small amount of MDMA being combined with cathinone to mask it.
The drug-checking agency is warning partygoers to be cautious about what they're taking over the festival season.
Some of the most frequently identified cathinones being used are N-ethyl pentylone, mephedrone and eutylone, which can have the same kind of euphoric affect MDMA can give.
However, with cathinones the affect wears off significantly quicker and prompts people to re-dose despite cathinones typically being more potent.
"What the person thinks is a manageable amount of MDMA for an adventure can be a dangerous amount of cathinone," a spokesperson said.
Cathinones typically have an affect which lasts between two and five hours, however the after effects stay with the person for up to 24 hours after ingesting.
"One person who presumed they had weak MDMA and took several doses experienced what they called '48 hours of hell' from what turned out to be eutylone," the KnowYourStuff spokesperson said.
Overdosing on cathinone can cause anxiety, paranoia, gastric distress, seizures or respiratory failure. The follow on effects can also make it much harder for the person to fall asleep.
Occasionally referred to as 'bath salts', cathinones are "a family of stimulants that are often sold in place of MDMA". They are known to be dealt in both crystal and pressed pill forms.
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