3-MMC is a synthetic drug (or research chemical) belonging to the family of cathinones, molecules with stimulating and empathogenic properties. It comes in the form of powder or crystals, and is mainly consumed by snorting or injection.
The consumption of 3-MMC, associated with that of GHB/GBL, is initially linked to the environment of chemsex, the practice of drug consumption in a sexual context, which is essentially the act of men who have sex with men (MSM) , in multi-sex contexts. Chemsexers often attribute to 3-MMC aphrodisiac properties that facilitate sexual intercourse (increased desire, ease of having an erection, delay in ejaculation, etc.).
In recent years, a diffusion of the uses of 3-MMC beyond chemsex has been observed by various actors working in the field of harm reduction. This substance is now used by men and women who do not always identify as LGBTQI, and outside of any sexual context.
3-MMC users seem to be most often young people, rather socially integrated and polydrug users, who have experimented with other illicit drugs (cannabis, cocaine, MDMA/ecstasy, etc.) before trying 3-MMC. Some were initiated by friends who practice or are close to chemsex, others by heterosexual people distant from chemsex. Drinks almost always take place in a festive context, in techno clubs and urban raves, sometimes during private parties. According to stakeholders in alternative festive spaces in New Aquitaine, the uses of 3-MMC seem to be rarer in free parties in rural areas, the uses being more visible in towns.
Users report appreciating the effects of this product, which lie between those of MDMA/ecstasy (amplification of sensory feelings, entactogenic and empathogenic effects) and cocaine (reduction of the feeling of fatigue, ease of approaching others and swap). They consume mainly in sniff. Arthur is 22 years old, works in the restaurant industry and uses various substances, in particular 3-MMC in a festive context (mainly in techno clubs and in private after-parties). He enjoys the uplifting effects of 3-MMC, which makes him “want to do stuff”: “You pick up a track and you run a marathon!” Unlike many chemsexers, Arthur doesn’t link this product to an aphrodisiac effect, claiming that taking it doesn’t make him “don’t want to fuck.”
Three minutes on: 3-MMC, the new cocaine? (OFDT, 2023).
Another central element reported by consumers, the cost: the price per gram of 3-MMC in Nouvelle-Aquitaine is around 40 euros (with a low price of 30 euros and a high price of 50 euros), compared to a price current of 60 euros per gram for cocaine.
In his sociology thesis entitled The new synthetic products: between prohibitive policies and a priori. Study of the particularities of the careers of consumers of 3-MMC, carried out at the University of Bordeaux, Mélina Lapeyronie-Soula interviewed nine consumers of 3-MMC, eight of whom do not practice chemsex. Most of the users surveyed present the low cost of this product, compared to that of cocaine, as an important motivation for use. According to Mélina Lapeyronie-Soula, the fact that 3-MMC has effects similar to two drugs that are well known and appreciated by users (MDMA/ecstasy and cocaine) and that its price is quite low contributes to its distribution in festive spaces.
3-MMC has historically been ordered via the internet by chemsexers, who source the substance from the dark web and illegal sites on the surface web. Due to legislative changes around synthetic drugs, particularly concerning sales platforms in the Netherlands, molecules sold as 3-MMC can regularly turn out to be derivatives (in particular of 3-CMC, with similar properties ). For chemsexers who do not wish to buy online, it is possible to obtain supplies in real life (IRL) essentially via networks of user-dealers who are themselves chemsexers. We have therefore been dealing for several years with very community-based IRL sales networks, quite closed to people who do not practice chemsex.
The health consequences have been clearly identified within the public of chemsexers, who can combine drug use disorders and sex addiction, and who are regularly confronted with issues related to consent, risky sexual practices and problems generated by injection. Concerning the consequences specifically linked to 3-MMC, they are similar to those linked to cocaine (craving, insomnia, loss of appetite, etc.) and to MDMA/ecstasy (difficult descents with dark thoughts, regret at having accepted certain sexual practices or getting closer to people the user would not have been to if he had been sober…).
Users of 3-MMC in festive spaces escape the problems associated with chemsex, but not the direct consequences of the use of this substance which, when sniffed, seems particularly harmful for the nasal septums. Users complain of intense pain when tracking: Antoine, a 25-year-old polydrug user, tested 3-MMC and did not like it, “because it tears your nose out”.
Harm reduction professionals are beginning to see 3-MMC users arrive in their structures who are not chemsexers, and who complain of a loss of control of use and the reported health consequences. A risk reduction association involved in free and rave parties explains that users of 3-MMC complain, for example, of insomnia, nausea, bad trip and craving. As these users are often polydrug users, the reason for initial treatment in addictology is not always 3-MMC; According to the professionals met, most users seem to consult for cocaine or alcohol consumption problems.
An educator specializing in Bordeaux CSAPA thus met a user consuming “3-MMC outside of any sexual context, to experiment, to party”, who came to ask for help for his “use of cocaine”. Note however that, as with other drugs, most uses of 3-MMC are recreational and do not have major health consequences.
If 3-MMC is, for the moment, less visible in festive spaces than other psychostimulants, it is a safe bet that its distribution has only just begun, and that experiments will multiply in the years to come.
Sarah Perrin, Doctor in Sociology, University of Bordeaux
