Molly drug use difficult to track

Molly, considered a safer and more pure form of Ecstasy, is an increasingly popular street drug for college-age students, according to the Indiana Prevention Resource Center.

Despite its innocent nickname, Molly is a dangerous and potentially deadly drug that has many harmful side effects, said Carole Nowicke, research associate at the Indiana Prevention Resource Center.

Overdoses of Molly may lead to health problems such as hyperthermia, seizures and kidney or liver failure.

Ecstasy became popular at music festivals during the 1980s and 1990s because it energizes users and makes them want to dance, but too much can be fatal, Nowicke said.

Molly has become popular in recent years as an alternative prescription drug, largely due to references in pop culture and music, she said. It is generally taken in a powder or crystalline format, while Ecstasy is normally taken as a pill.

Nowicke said it’s hard to track exactly how much Molly is used by a population because published data often lags a year or so behind the surveys.

Data showing use of the drug “isn’t being asked with the currently popular term for the substance,” Nowicke said.

If students don’t know Molly is a form of Ecstasy, they might not acknowledge the fact that they’re using it, she said.

“My colleagues who teach say that when asked, their students seem to be aware of the drug,” Nowicke said. “That doesn’t answer how many are using it.”

Molly, also known as MDMA, can be extremely dangerous because it is often substituted by drug dealers by “anything that could be passed off” as Molly. Nowicke said Molly is often laced or mixed with methamphetamine or “bath salts.”

“Since last spring, seven people attending dance concerts died with symptoms matching overdoses of MDMA,” Nowicke said in a press release. “We’ve been receiving more requests for information about the drug at the center.”

High school and college students are often fond of Molly because of the relaxed but energized sensation it creates, she said.

In Indiana, 5.3 percent of 12th graders claimed to have tried Molly in their lifetime, compared with 7.2 percent of students in a national sample, according to a press release.

“It’s cheap, easy to obtain and supposed to be a relatively benign drug,” Nowicke said.

Although it is hard to prevent students from using the drug, college campuses are taking steps to try.

“Colleges are required to report to the federal government about crimes on campus, including drug possession,” Nowicke said.

The University of Virginia, for example, aims to provide awareness of the dangers of Molly use through YouTube videos and other platforms.

UVA student Mary Shelley Goldsmith died Labor Day weekend and is believed to have taken Molly at a concert before her death, according to a press release.

Nowicke assured students that Molly is not safer than Ecstasy.

“Remember, part of its name is ‘amphetamine’ — it isn’t ‘Vitamin M.,” she said. “Concerns about the safety of street drugs are one of the factors increasing the popularity of prescription drugs.”