While it's no surprise that the quality of MDMA has gone up inexorably since its 80s heyday, a new ultra-strong batch is putting even today's standards to bed.
Students are being warned to look out for the new form of the drug which which is leaving young people at the risk of hospitalisation after attending 'super-parties' held in in cities like Newcastle, London and Manchester.
Newcastle City Council have allegedly stumbled upon a whopping 136 of these parties in under a year, and some attendees have complained of having four-day comedowns.
Image: PA
Claire Dean, a spokeswoman for drug counselling service Lifeline, said: "For the first time we are having people coming to us with problems relating to MDMA, we have never seen that before.
"It is a danger to promising student careers. These drugs in the strength we are now seeing have a four-day comedown period, these kids are walking around like glass, unable to function."
The super-parties were said to have taken off across British universities last year
The venues are usually student terraced houses, not exactly fit for the large turnouts.
One party in Manchester was so jammed with reveller's that the living room floor collapsed into the basement.
To get around noise complaints, punters have been known to barricade exits with sofas and mattresses to sound proof the gaffs.
Tracy McCann, Newcastle City Council's lead practitioner for anti-social behaviour, spoke out about the event where some students are taking the drugs.
"It started at the end of the exam period last year when we began getting calls about very large scale parties with hundreds of people attending," she told the Daily Mail.
"There were security men on the doors and the exits were being blocked with sofas and mattresses. The parties were being widely promoted on social media. Across the country it has become the way students choose to party. They don't want to spend their money going out to clubs when, in their eyes, they can do it their own way at home.
"But the dangers from so many factors are obvious and we are acting before we have a mass casualty incident to deal with," she added.
Fire brigades have also warned students about the 'recipe for disaster' parties and say that blocking exits "hugely increases the likelihood of fatality."
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: council, MDMA, Drugs, Party