When I was a youth the main reason I didn’t try anything stronger than cannabis was the fact that I could have no idea what was in what I could potentially buy
Absolutely. Which is why I think it’s important to give young people the tools to make taking drugs as safe as possible.
To use your example, EZ Test kits are widely available, cheap and completely legal. They will quickly tell you if your pill contains what it’s supposed to. A drawback is that it WON’T detect something sinister in there, but experience and research suggests that such pills are rare anyway, you’re far more likely to buy something which is a substitute. A test kit will tell you whether you’ve bought an authentic pill. The simple fact is that pill manufacturers DO NOT go to the effort of making a pill containing MDMA and then stick something dangerous in it. It’s urban myth and scaremongering. The same way that NO PILL contains heroin. Look at the oral dose one would require for your body to even register the presence of heroin, and then look at the size/weight/cost of a pressed pill. It’s a complete fabrication to scare people away from ecstasy.
There is also a very useful website called Pillreports, which details full reports of pills tested from all over the world. Sure, you can’t guarantee that one which looks like the one you have bought is the same as the “safe” one you are looking at a review for, but like I said, it’s all about providing people with the education and resources to mitigate the dangers as far as possible.
People will not stop taking drugs simply as a result of someone saying “you shouldn’t do this”.
Educate people, reduce harm and risk, provide proper help and information. It’s not rocket science and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper than waging a “war” on recreational drug users.