fbpx
Skip to content

TH: +66 20 385 469     Toll Free USA/CAN: 1 888 806 6776     Toll Free UK: 0 808 189 0393     Toll Free AUS: 1 800 251 994     HK: +852 3008 5841     SG: +65 3158 7621

  • Home
  • What We Treat
    • Addiction
      • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
      • Drug Addiction Treatment
      • Amphetamine Addiction Treatment
      • Cocaine Addiction Treatment
      • GHB Addiction Treatment
      • Heroin Addiction Treatment
      • Ecstasy Addiction Treatment
      • Marijuana Addiction Treatment
      • Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
    • Mental Health
      • Anxiety treatment programme
      • Depression treatment programme
      • Co-treating Addiction and Trauma Disorders
      • Dual Diagnosis/Co-Occurring Disorders
    • Behavioral Addiction
      • Co-Occurring Disordered Eating Treatment
      • Internet Addiction Treatment
      • Rehab for Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Our Programme
    • Changing Pathways Addiction Programme
      • Physical Therapy
    • The Kintsugi Programme
    • Disordered Eating Programme
    • Continuing Care
    • Recovery House at The Cabin
    • Sunday Excursions
  • About Our Rehab
    • About the Cabin
    • Accommodation and Facilities
    • Gallery
    • The Cabin Group
    • Our Team
    • Client Testimonials
    • In The Press
    • Blogs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Process
    • How Rehab Works at The Cabin
    • Online assessment
    • FAQ
    • Family Advice
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Referring a Client

Get Help Now
05/02/2014

Deadly Effects of the ’Party Drug’ Molly: Hollywood Should be Ashamed

Home › Blog › Deadly Effects of the ’Party Drug’ Molly: Hollywood Should be Ashamed

A drug named “Molly” is often described as “the purest form of MDMA”. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) says Molly has become a toxic blend of synthetic chemicals. This is the scary part. Teens are purchasing “Molly” expecting to get a pure form of MDMA, and are dying from the adverse effects of unknown substances.

It might appear that a new drug is sweeping the globe – a drug named “Molly”. If you Google search the term, you’ll likely find that it is described as “the purest form of MDMA”. MDMA has long been sold on the club scene, but more commonly known as ‘Ecstasy”.

It’s not entirely clear when ecstasy started being labelled as a low-class drug for ‘e-tards’, but Molly has since taken over the scene as the upscale version of the long-time party drug. Those who are willing to pay a bit more for their drugs  are taking Molly – assumedly expecting to get a high quality,  pure form of the drug MDMA.

That’s not the case, however. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Molly has become a toxic blend of synthetic (lab-created) chemicals. In fact, the DEA claims that only 13% of all Molly capsules confiscated in the state of New York over the past four years contain any MDMA at all. Instead, they are a mixture of Methylone, MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone), 4-MEC, 4-MMC (mephedrone), Pentedrone and MePP. MDVP has a similar make-up to that of methamphetamine, and mephedrone is said to have a very high risk of overdose.

This is the scary part. Teens are purchasing “Molly” expecting to get a pure form of MDMA which has less negative side effects, and while overdose is still very possible – it doesn’t carry nearly as much risk as the synthetic drugs that are more likely to actually be inside the “pure MDMA” capsules.

The History of MDMA

In 1912, Merck pharmaceutical company applied for a patent for the newly formulated drug MDMA. The drug’s purpose was to control bleeding, and at that time no psychoactive effects had been noted. In the 1950’s, the U.S.  Army began experimenting with the drug. While the real reasons behind the tests were strictly classified, some believe they were hoping to find a natural form of truth serum to use on their enemies.

However, nothing came of those tests, and it wasn’t until about 10 years later that an independent chemist began testing the still-legal drug for psychoactive properties and found that it did indeed elevate mood by large amounts. He passed it along to a psychiatrist friend of his who began using it in his practice, prescribing it to patients who were suffering from depression. It seemed to be a miracle drug at the time, of which some physicians dubbed “penicillin for the soul”. Psychiatrists claimed that the drug allowed patients to open up honestly to others, and often gain the insight needed to figure out their own problems – all on their own.

By this point, the ring of doctors handing out this drug was getting wider and wider, and the users were increasing considerably. The drug was becoming more popular, and by the early 1980’s it had become a staple party favour for those in the club world. A euphoric, energetic high that allowed people to stay up all night – all social inhibitions pushed aside – in the form of a pill named ‘ecstasy’.

It wasn’t until 1985 that the DEA banned the drug across the U.S. However, that didn’t mean that ecstasy disappeared.  In fact, it was becoming more and more popular with the club crowd. The only difference – it was no longer made in a legal lab with pure ingredients. So, like most street drugs when ingredients were hard to come by, or dealers started getting money-hungry, the drug was cut with cheaper materials.

By the 1990’s, pills were surfacing in nightclubs and raves that contained little to no MDMA. The drug left people strung-out like they’d been on speed or meth instead – and let’s face it – they probably were. In the early ‘90s, deaths were becoming a more common occurrence amongst the rave-crowds, which ultimately led to a decreased interest in the drug. The ‘90s also saw a spike in cocaine use with the then popular ‘grunge’ crowd, but the early 2000s brought back dance music, and the “MDMA” followed.

No one can be sure of the exact transformation, but some people speculate that the deaths and low-quality of ‘ecstasy’ being sold in the early 1990s led the marketers of street drugs to rename a “pure” form of MDMA – and Molly was born.

How Hollywood Promotes Molly to Teens

While marijuana has long been the theme of many songs, for example “Smoke Weed Everyday” by Snoop Dogg, Molly was relatively new in the lyrical world of Hip Hop and Dance music until recently. Miley Cyrus, for instance, has a fan following of mostly 12-20 year old girls. And in her chart-topping single from 2013, “Can’t Stop”, she talks about dancing with Molly, staying up all night, and doing whatever and whomever you please. In a Rolling Stone Interview she let people know that she considers cocaine an old-fashioned drug from the 1990’s and that smoking weed and taking Molly is much better. She claims “Those are happy drugs – social drugs. They make you want to be with friends.”

Is she really openly telling her young fans she uses this dangerous drug? How can she get away with promoting these drugs to anyone, let alone such a young fan base?

She’s not the only Hollywood pop star who has been promoting the drug, though.  References have popped up from Kanye West, Trinidad James, and Rick Ross to name a few. DJ Cedric Gervais has a song actually entitled “Molly” in which a woman speaks about wanting to find Molly: “She makes my life happier, more exciting. She makes me want to dance”. Even Madonna, a mother herself, apparently asked the crowd at a 2012 concert “How many people in this crowd have seen Molly?”. She later claimed that she was referring to a friend of hers that she was unable to find – much to the disbelief of, well, everyone.

One especially scary part of this promotion of Molly from the music world, is that no one bothers to mention the dangerous side of the drug: the fact that teens are dying from lethal chemical combinations sold as “Molly”.

Deaths from Molly Drug

In September 2013, the 3-day electronic music festival, Electric Zoo, in New York had to cancel the final day of the festival due to two Molly-related deaths in the first two days. Jeffrey Russ, 23, of Rochester, and Olivia Rotondo, 20 of Providence R.I., both collapsed with high temperatures. It is believed that Rotondo had taken 6 hits of Molly, and although hers was relatively pure, the dose proved fatal.

Russ on the other hand, took a lethal mix of MDMA and Methylone – sold as “Molly”. The fact that both youth were at the same party and managed to find such varying types of Molly goes to show that the drug is far from “pure” and users never know exactly what they’re going to get.

In an article written for Playboy Magazine entitled “What’s Inside Your MDMA? It’s Not What You Think”, writer Frank Owen purchases three different “pure” Molly pills from various places and finds all three contain little to no MDMA. Instead, ingredients for bath salts, meth, cocaine and even opiates were found inside the capsules.
Where do we go from here?

It would be an easy answer to say that we should erase Molly from existence, but that’s basically impossible. What does need to happen then, is for role models and people in positions of influence, to speak about the real dangers that can come from using this (and all) street drugs.

MTV (Music Television) recently released a casting call for a new show, The Real Life: I’m Addicted to Molly, in which they asked for people aged 18-20 who feel as though they may be addicted to Molly to contact them for the show. The casting call reads “Do you take Molly – the powdered form of MDMA – so often that it feels like you can’t have a good time without it? Is it affecting your ability to function during the day? Is your Molly use no longer confined to the occasional party and starting to become more serious?”

All we can hope is that MTV broadcasts this show in the right light – showing the dangerous effects of a drug that has become commonplace with today’s youth. However, all street drugs are dangerous, because you never can be sure what you are really consuming. Be smart. Be Safe. Stay away from Molly.

Get A Free Consultation
Search

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
  • Behavioral Addiction
  • Blog
  • Co-occurring Disorders
  • Cocaine Addiction
  • Drug Addiction
  • Food Addiction Treatment
  • Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Gaming Addiction Treatment
  • Infographic
  • Infosheet
  • Internet Addiction Treatment
  • Prescription Drugs Addiction Treatment
  • Reach
  • Recovery
  • Relapse Prevention
  • Rise
  • Sex Addiction Treatment
  • Trauma and Addiction
  • Video
  • Youth Addiction Treatment
Heroin
Blog | Infographic

How to recognise a heroin addiction

10/15/2015
Back to School Rise in Abuse of “Study Drugs” Leads to Addiction
Blog

Back to School: Rise in Abuse of “Study Drugs” Leads to Addiction

As everyone from kindergarteners to college students head back to school for a new semester this September, it is important to bring to light a rising trend: “study drugs”. Of course you won’t see any kindergarteners taking study drugs, but high school students and especially college and university students are at high risk for abusing...
08/27/2014
Which Country Drinks the Most You May Be Surprised
Alcohol Addiction Treatment | Blog

Which Country Drinks the Most? You May Be Surprised

When it comes to drinking, there are often strong stereotypes associated with particular countries. In many movies, you can see images of Russians pounding back shots of vodka, Irish drinking bottomless glasses of Guinness, or most any other nationality drowning its sorrows in booze. But on the tails of a recent poll conducted by Euromonitor,...
02/20/2014
The Cabin Logo

The Cabin Rehab Centre
9 Khua Mung, Saraphi District,
Chiang Mai, Thailand 50140

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Linkedin

OUR TREATMENT

  • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
  • Drug Addiction Treatment
  • Disordered Eating Programme
  • Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Changing Pathways
  • Kintsugi Programme
  • Sunday Excursions
  • Relapse Prevention

ABOUT THE CABIN

  • About Us
  • The Professional Team
  • Why The Cabin
  • Our Accommodation
  • Admissions Process
  • What is Our Client Say?
  • FAQ
  • The Cabin’s Blog
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms and Conditions

CONTACT US

TH: +66 20 385 469
USA/CAN: 1 888 806 6776
UK: 0 808 189 0393
AUS: 1 800 251 994
HK: +852 3008 5841
SG: +65 3158 7621
Download Our Brochure

© 2023 The Cabin Chiang Mai. All Rights Reserved.

Get Help Today!
Getting the Help You Need Today!

If you require further information, Please do not hesitate to contact us.

  • TH : +662 038 5469
  • US : +1 888 806 6776
  • UK : +44 808 189 0393
  • AU : +61 1 800 251 994
  • HK : +852 3008 5841
  • SG : +65 3158 7621
close
Manage Cookie Consent

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Scroll to top
  • Home
  • What We Treat
    • Addiction
      • Alcohol Addiction Treatment
      • Drug Addiction Treatment
      • Amphetamine Addiction Treatment
      • Cocaine Addiction Treatment
      • GHB Addiction Treatment
      • Heroin Addiction Treatment
      • Ecstasy Addiction Treatment
      • Marijuana Addiction Treatment
      • Methamphetamine Addiction Treatment
    • Mental Health
      • Anxiety treatment programme
      • Depression treatment programme
      • Co-treating Addiction and Trauma Disorders
      • Dual Diagnosis/Co-Occurring Disorders
    • Behavioral Addiction
      • Co-Occurring Disordered Eating Treatment
      • Internet Addiction Treatment
      • Rehab for Gambling Addiction Treatment
  • Our Programme
    • Changing Pathways Addiction Programme
      • Physical Therapy
    • The Kintsugi Programme
    • Disordered Eating Programme
    • Continuing Care
    • Recovery House at The Cabin
    • Sunday Excursions
  • About Our Rehab
    • About the Cabin
    • Accommodation and Facilities
    • Gallery
    • The Cabin Group
    • Our Team
    • Client Testimonials
    • In The Press
    • Blogs
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Process
    • How Rehab Works at The Cabin
    • Online assessment
    • FAQ
    • Family Advice
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Referring a Client