Response

I am writing in response to a Letter to the Editor written by Earth Erowid focusing on two concerns in the article “Luck of the Draw: Common Adulterants Found in Illicit Drugs.”1 I agree with Earth Erowid that illicit use of ketamine occurred before illicit use of ecstacy. To clarify, the popularity and awareness of ketamine increased following the wider spread use of ecstasy. In addition, both ecstacy and ketamine are associated with use at “raves” and are considered common “club drugs.”2 Subsequently, during this time, adulterations of ecstasy with ketamine brought additional focus on ketamine in the substance abuse arena.

The second concern Earth Erowid discusses is in regards to the specific ways in which ecstacy tablets are tested through DanceSafe.org. Thank you for clarifying the information that the DanceSafe.org Web site provides regarding ecstasy tablets and the limitations of such testing. I regret not investigating information on these Web sites further and stand corrected as to the procedure in laboratory testing. The author encourages readers to refer to the information in the Letter to the Editor regarding ecstacy tablet testing.