Discussion surrounding the drug Molly, a pure form of MDMA — an amphetamine often laced with unknown substances — have been front and center in the University community ever since the death of second-year College student Shelley Goldsmith.
According to Cathleen Clancy, associate medical director of the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C., the danger with Molly is that nobody knows exactly what is in it, because it varies from sale to sale.
“Drug dealers use the name Molly to get people to buy their drug,” Clancy said. “What’s in the packet can be almost anything. It’s a variety of synthetic amphetamines.”
In studies on Molly, only 25 percent of tablets examined were pure MDMA — the other 75 percent included other drugs or unknown toxins, according to a public video by Student Health Director Chris Holstege, also the director of the University’s Division of Medical Toxicology.
Because of the variance in the mixture of substances in packets of Molly, a person’s response can be drastically different each time they use it.
“It’s become quite a problem,” Clancy said. “Someone can take it one day, and it makes them feel great; another day it can make them quite sick. With heroin, for example, people know what they are getting into. It’s the same compound every time.”
Common symptoms experienced after taking a hallucinogenic amphetamine such as Molly or ecstasy include agitation, paranoia, high body temperatures and sometimes seizures, Clancy said. In some cases, the drug causes brain to swell and herniate, often leading to death.
Overall, the use of synthetic amphetamines has increased recently. Calls to the National Capital Poison Center have been increasing in the past few years, from 34 in 2010, to 51 in 2011 and 65 in 2012, according to Clancy. Since January 2013, there have been 48 calls from people who have used hallucinogenic amphetamines.
“The number of calls don’t completely reflect the numbers using Molly; we don’t separate calls for different types of synthetic amphetamines,” Clancy said.
Though 95 percent of University students don’t use ecstasy or Molly, according to Holstege’s video, there is some worry that the uptick in media attention surrounding the drug will cause more people to try it. Clancy, however, said she hopes the increased information will help educate everyone on the extreme dangers of the drug.
“The media’s job is to alert people to new things that are happening, and they’ve done that,” Clancy said. “In the end, the more education, the better.”
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