The Blue New Yorker pill has 250 to 300mg of MDMA.

Pink Mitsubishi MDMA contains about 250 to 350mg of the active ingredient but also a large dose of caffeine which adds to the danger.

Dangerously-high doses of party drug MDMA are circulating in New Zealand ahead of New Year's Eve, a drug-testing organisation warns.

KnowYourStuffNZ has issued the warning saying the high-dose MDMA – the base drug in ecstasy – was likely to be found around New Zealand over the summer period.

"These pills should be approached with caution. Users are advised that the only way to guarantee safety is to not take them.

If people did choose to take them the organisation advised to take a third of the pill at most.

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A common dose of MDMA was around 80 to 120 milligrams but the new batch was a lot higher, it warned.

One, called the Blue New Yorker for its New York Yankees logo, contained 250 to 300mg, while the rectangular CNN had about 300mg. Pills dubbed Pink Mitsubishi contained 250 to 350mg and about the equivalent caffeine as two strong cups of coffee.

The caffeine added to the risk of heart problems or stimulant-induced psychosis.

The triangular Blue Punisher had about 300mg of MDMA while the Yellow Ironman about about 250mg.

123rf A warning about powerful levels of party drug MDMA has been issued ahead of New Year's Eve.

"Taking too much MDMA can result in a very unpleasant experience, health risks, and sometimes even death," KnowYourStuffNZ warned.

"If you or someone you know has taken one of these pills and experiences dizziness and vomiting, a sharp rise in body temperature, muscle cramping, heart palpitations, seizures, or unconsciousness, seek medical attention immediately."

It noted the MDMA levels were estimates only.

KnowYourStuffNZ managing director Wendy Allison said the organisation would have three teams in the field at various events over the New Year's period.

123RF Party drug MDMA is in New Zealand in high doses this holiday season, KnowYourStuffNZ warns (File photo).

They would test any pills brought to them, and if any high-dose pills turned up, "we would have a conversation with the person" who brought in the pill for testing.

"The best advice in terms of guaranteed safety is to not take it," Allison said. If people were going to take the pill, the aim was to reduce harm by getting them to take an appropriate dose.

"It's all about reducing the amount of likely harm." If anything particularly dangerous showed up, an alert would be issued straight away.

Most events had searches at entry points and there was a police presence to try to keep illicit substances out, but such substances would get in.

"The best thing we can do is give people the best information we have that helps them make safer decisions," Allison said.

Her organisation did not ask people where they had obtained their substance from, but as she understood it many people tried to get hold of the substances they wanted before getting to an event.

"There will be people who haven't been able to do that, or people who for whatever reason have arrived on site and don't have stuff, and there will be people there who are meeting that market," Allison said.

Police targeted people supplying drugs inside festivals. Studies in the UK suggested drugs bought at festivals were much more likely to be dodgy or dangerous than those bought by people before they got to a festival.

The presence of KnowYourStuffNZ could help alleviate the risk of dangerous substances being supplied at an event, because people were able to test the substances they bought, and if there were problems word would get around.

For the past five years, MDMA had accounted for the highest percentage of substances tested by KnowYourStuffNZ at festivals, Allison said. "I wouldn't say it's the most common drug. That would be ignoring the presence of alcohol or cannabis, neither of which is brought to us for testing."

In February, 13 people admitted to Christchurch Hospital after a music festival were found to have taken a drug called N-Ethylpentylone, when they were thought they were taking MDMA.

Allison said the KnowYourStuffNZ teams found N-Ethylpentylone at every event they attended last year. "N-Ethylpentylone is fairly common around New Zealand as a substitute for MDMA."

The standard average dose for N-Ethylpentylone was about a third of that for MDMA. "It's very, very easy to take too much (N-Ethylpentylone) if you think it's MDMA," Allison said.

"We don't know anyone who has sought this out. Every sample brought to us was from people who thought it was MDMA," she said.

"It's definitely still around and something to be aware of and another reason people should always test their stuff."