Warning issued over high-strength “Silver Punisher pills”
The tablets are said to contain 2.5 times the standard MDMA dose
A warning has been issued over high-strength "Silver Punisher" ecstasy pills which were discovered at a UK venue last weekend.
The tablets have been identified as 1.5cm in length with silver-grey colouring, and embossed with the logo to Marvel franchise The Punisher. Laboratory analysis found each pill contained 252mg of MDMA, 2.5 times the usual dose.
Manchester-based MANDRAKE, a harm reduction service based at the Manchester Metropolitan University, made the announcement on Saturday 2nd October. The organisation has been delivering drug-checking at The Warehouse Project, one of the city's most popular event series, since 2013, and is on-site throughout the current season, which runs to January 2024.
Earlier this year, a controversial government u-turn blocked drug-testing at a Manchester festival with no prior notice. The decision was met with widespread criticism, and prompted fears over safety during the summer festival season as the new de-facto policy effectively excluded temporary events from services.
Last October, "Blue Punisher pills" were discovered in Manchester, triggering another MANDRAKE warning. Believed to be the strongest ever found, each tablet contained 477mg of MDMA. More recently, details were shared about fake MDMA circulating in the city during Pride weekend. Testing showed powder was BDMP, a substance that can easily be confused with MDMA but is linked to prolonged bouts of insomnia leading to severe paranoia. The Loop, Britain's leading drug-testing service, reported discovering the same active compound in powder at this year's Lost Village Festival in Lincolnshire.
