- Some middle class women have started hosting "brieing" parties.
- This involves taking MDMA wrapped up in a piece of cheese.
- One woman told the Metro she started the trend because she wanted to break down the barriers between her friends.
In metropolitan places, it's not unheard of for people to sit down for a dinner party, then order a gram of coke from their dealer afterwards. It might sound like an outlandish alternative to a cheese board, but according to the Metro, some middle class women are combining the two ideas in a new fad called "brieing."
The Metro spoke to a 50-year-old woman who said she often hosts dinner parties where she and her friends take MDMA - the most common ingredient in ecstasy pills - wrapped in cheese.
When asked why she decided to do this, she said it was to improve her friendships.
"I have a strong circle of female friends and we had tried all the latest fads, food fashions, and destination dinner parties but something was missing," she told the Metro. "We did not seem to have as much of a laugh than as when we were younger, there always seemed to be barriers up between us."
So, after being given a gram of MDMA by her daughter, and strict instructions to swallow rather than snort it from her son, she and her friends wrapped the substance in pieces of brie and ate it.
"Nothing much happened for forty minutes then the colours in the rug seemed to be a more vivid and before I know it was in an in-depth conversation about my fantasy sex life with an old friend," the woman said. "It was such an intense experience. I am sure most of us at that party have done it with other friends so now wrapping MDMA in brie seems to be a thing now."
In fact, a year later, the woman said she has been invited to several "brieing" parties. She reckons it has taken off because it is "such a middle class way to take drugs."
According to the Global Drugs Survey, MDMA is one of the most popular illicit drugs in the world, and its use has increased in recent years.
There is also a growing body of research into how MDMA can be used in a therapeutic setting. For example, a recent study suggests it could be a candidate for PTSD treatment.
Among recreational users, they simply enjoy taking it for the buzz, vivid colours, and affection they feel for the people around them. According to the GDS, MDMA is the fourth least harmful drug out of the 13 surveyed, just above ketamine, cannabis, and psilocybin (magic mushrooms.)
However, one woman told the Metro she somewhat regretted her brieing experience, because of the midweek comedown that followed.
"I thought it was funny that we were all taking 'E's n Cheese' together and we did have a real laugh on the night," she said. "But the come down I had was absolutely terrible, perhaps because I do not have a partner to go home to and get a big hug from it was worse for me. I still felt incredibly sad on the Tuesday night after taking it at the weekend, I will never be doing it again."