Der er spekulation om at der ikke er tilsat PMA/PMMA med vilje, men at det i stedet skyldes urenheder i startmaterialet eller evt er der brugt et forkert startmateriale. Hvis dette er rigtigt vil man også kunne risikere at støde på forurenet "ren" MDMA.
Shulgin:
Citat:
There are some reports of safrole being sizable components of Star Anise Oil (Illicium verum, I. parviflorum) but the major
compound in these Oils is Anethol, not Safrole. And if Anise Oil were to be used in error as a presumed source of Safrole,
this material would give rise to PMA, which has been shown to be very toxic. PMA has been seen as an "Ecstasy" substitute,
and I wonder if the uninformed use of Anise Oil as a presumed Safrole source, could have been the origin of PMA in the Ecstasy rave scene.